Siapa Layak Menjadi Pemimpin Malaysia?

By : Alina Simon and Sulaiman Jaafar

MACHANG, Wed:

No more cah keting (sabotage) and clannish pride! Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not mince his words when he told off Kelantan Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders and grassroot members to stop internal bickering and infighting.

Najib, who spoke to a crowd of supporters here today, went straight to the heart of the problem at the start of his speech by bluntly stating that the practice must stop if the BN were to win back Kelantan.

He pointed out that the habit of sabotage and camps within the party had denied BN the chance of recapturing Kelantan in the 2004 general election.

“If they truly wanted a change, the change should start from their hearts, instead of merely mouthing platitudes,” Najib said, praising state BN leaders for co-operation and singled out state BN and Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Annuar Musa for his willingness to step aside and allow the post of Menteri Besar to go to Deputy Finance Minister and Bachok Parliamentary incumbent Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin.

Awang Adek will be defending his seat against Pas deputy president Nasharuddin Mat and contesting in Pas-held Perupok seat.

"Annuar said he was also willing to act as campaign manager for Awang Adek during the campaigning period. This is the spirit of co-operation that we want between the big three all in one boat," he said, referring to the top state leaders who also include Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed.

Speaking in a mixture of the local dialect, Najib voiced his frustration of having to repeatedly step in and resolve the problem in the state while injected humour to soften the sting of his words.

"I am tired of coming to Kelantan, I come here and shout, then go home so exhausted I had to ask my wife for a massage,” he said in the Kelantanese accent. "I had to drink honey water to keep up my strength.”

BN lost out to Pas by getting only 21 of the 45 state seats but added Pengkalan Pasir state seat after a by-election in 2006.

Najib cited Kemuning state seat under the Machang Parliamentary where BN lost by only two votes as an example of the extent of damage caused by their inability to put aside their sentiments.

"I was so disappointed,” he said. “With that two votes, we could have formed a BN government in Kelantan. It could not have been due to Pas' strength. We won the parliamentary seat and we should have won the state seats too. The only valid reason for the defeat is because of infighting.” - NST