KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) is not expected to face any difficulty getting a simple majority in the 14th General Election (GE14) based on the excellent record of its 13- component party alliance of fulfilling the aspirations of the people.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities dean Prof Dr Mohd Fuad Mat Jali said considering the current political climate, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is expected to gain a two-thirds majority for BN.
“BN is now in the best position to win GE14, as unity is strong in Umno and the people’s rejection of the opposition, especially its choice of candidate for prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he told reporters after presenting a working paper at the Pre-GE14 Round-table Conference session – ‘Will BN Be Retained Or…’ here yesterday.
Participants at the conference which included academics from the National Professor Council Political, Security and International Affairs Cluster met to discuss major issues pertaining to GE14.
The one-day conference saw three round-table sessions titled ‘BN, PH and PAS: Who Beats Who’; ‘Sabah and Sarawak in GE14: Development Politics and Political Changes’; and ‘BN vs PH vs PAS : Who Wins, Who Determines’.
He said in a recent UKM survey, the 6,000 respondents interviewed said the factors which would determine voter decision was firstly, the choice of candidate, followed by the party, proposed manifesto and issues.
“The survey found that 75 per cent of the respondents did not support Tun Dr Mahathir as prime minister if the opposition wins GE14. This is because of his age and he is seen as too liberal and had betrayed Umno, they worry about the fate of the Malays and the religion as (Tun) Dr Mahathir is seen as in cahoots with DAP,” he said. — Bernama