PONTIAN: The proposal to turn the Barisan Nasional (BN) into a single party is inappropriate and difficult to implement as it is unable to represent the interest of all races in the country, said Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
He said the BN comprised 13 component parties representing the various races including the minotiry groups in Sabah and Sarawak, and if the proposal were to be adopted, he feared the interest of the minority groups might not be well represented.
“We know that in Sabah and Sarawak, BN has component parties representing various ethnic groups who are small in terms of numbers and if the BN is merged into a single party, their voice will be eroded,” he said.
The Member of Parliament for Pontian disclosed this to reporters after officiating the ground-breaking ceremony for Sekolah Kebangsaan Agama Seri Anom Parit Satu, here today, involving a building allocation of RM1.9 million.
Ahmad said personally, he disagreed with the proposal that would ‘bury’ Umno, the only party championing the cause of the Malays all this while.
“I personally do not agree that Umno be dissolved to create a single BN party without any components, and I’m certain that the 3.4 million Umno members too do not agree,” he said.
At the same time, he urged that the proposal to create direct BN membership without becoming a member of any BN component party previously be reimplemented as an alternative to the proposal for a single BN party.
In this manner, the BN could attract the various associations or unions to become its associate member. — BERNAMA