KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) defeat in the Sibu parliamentary by-election should be taken as an opportunity to rise with a new spirit and strength to wrest it back in the next general election.
IN DISCUSSION: Najib speaks to Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz (second left) after delivering a special address at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum’s inaugural meeting in Asia at Bank Negara. — Bernama photo
The prime minister said the BN’s strength in the area was intact as its traditional supporters were still with the coalition.
He expressed sadness over the defeat but said that the margin was too narrow and that what the BN needed to do now was to study the weaknesses and carry out the necessary improvement.
“We accept the defeat. As a party which upholds democracy, the BN respects the voters’ decision,” he told reporters after delivering a special address at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum’s inaugural meeting in Asia at Bank Negara here.
In the by-election on Sunday, DAP’s Wong Ho Leng polled 18,845 votes to win the contest by a 398-vote majority, defeating BN’s Robert Lau Hui Yew who polled 18,447 votes and Independent Narawi Haron who garnered 232 votes.
There was no need for finger pointing, Najib said, adding that what was important was to study what had happened and to make improvements if there were weaknesses and to look into the message conveyed by the Sibu voters.
“We should also look into the so-called urban swing,” Najib said, “we should study the reason for this phenomenon.”
Najib, who was in Sibu on several occasions during the campaign, said among the factors for the defeat was the approach adopted by the BN’s machinery which he said was still following the old ways of campaigning.
There should have been a more creative and energetic approach to the campaign, he added.
Najib also said that the defeat should serve as a lesson for the BN either at the divisional or state level and spur them to carry out the necessary changes.
“The BN’s strength lies, among others, in the ability of its machinery but when the machinery itself was lacking, we lost our advantages,” he said.
When asked about the voting trend among the Chinese, which showed unfavourable trend towards the BN, Najib said the coalition “will look into everything.”
“We should study whether this has been the case or whether this is caused by local or state or national issues. We should take all these into account,” he said.
Najib said there were also “quite a number” of BN supporters who did not turn up to vote and “we should also look into this factor.”
Asked on the impact of the Sibu by-election to the coming state election, the prime minister said: “It’s a bigger challenge and therefore, all of us, especially those in Sarawak, should think of ways to face the election.”
Asked whether the DAP had succeeded in its ‘government-bashing tactics’, Najib said the party had campaigned aggressively, raised sensitive issues and carried out plenty of programmes and meetings. — Bernama