STRESSING HIS POINT: Najib giving his speech at the 58th MCA annual general assembly at Wisma MCA. — Bernama photo
Najib wants BN component parties to engage the people, adopt an inclusive approach
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday said Barisan Nasional (BN) will continue to strive for social justice in the interest of all Malaysians.
The BN chairman and Umno president said BN component parties needed to engage the people and adopt an inclusive approach in considering the interest of all communities.
“This is one of the key pillars of 1Malaysia towards ensuring social justice grounded in the principles enshrined in the Malaysian constitution,” he said when opening the 58th MCA annual general assembly at Wisma MCA here.
Speaking off-the-cuff, Najib said BN needed to inject new paradigms to be dynamic, fresh-looking and fresh-thinking in order to remain relevant at all times.
“When you’re afraid to change with the times, you’ll become irrelevant as a political party,” he said at the gathering which was attended by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, his deputy Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, BN leaders as well as MCA delegates.
The prime minister drove home the point on his intention to be fair to all when he said as a Muslim, he was enjoined by Islam to be fair to everybody, including non-Muslims.
He said to remain relevant, the party must also be brave to bring about change and not do things at the last moment.
“If there are mistakes, we must not be afraid of admitting them. We must correct them.
There’s no point in saying ‘I’m sorry’ during the general election.
“When we realise that something is not right, the time is now to correct it. We must have the courage to make the correction,” he said.
The prime minister praised the new spirit in MCA which indicated that the situation had been restored and hoped that the party would not look back in strengthening its position.
“I have said it before and reiterate here that I want to see an MCA that is united and strong. What’s the use of BN if MCA is divided, if there’s team A and team B and then team C.
“What’s the use if a big party like this (MCA) which had played an important role in the formation of this country and in struggling for change, if it cannot remain united to the extent of losing the continued trust of the Chinese community and other communities as well?” he said.
In this regard, Najib hoped MCA would continue to foster unity and be well prepared for the coming general election.
Najib stressed that all BN members must support the candidates fielded regardless of which party they came from, as this was the basic principle for ensuring BN’s success in the elections.
“Don’t say, ‘he’s not our candidate, he’s from another party’. We cannot have this kind of spirit if we want to defend Putrajaya,” he said, referring to the federal government’s administrative centre.
Najib pointed out to his audience gathered in the San Choon Hall at the MCA headquarters that what was important in an election boiled down to one word: trust.