KOTA BELUD: Former chief minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak has urged the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat to respect the people’s decision to give a comfortable majority to the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 13th General Election (GE13).
Describing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as power crazy and unable to accept defeat, he said the opposition leader should not question the outcome of the GE13 and the legitimacy of the federal government of the day.
“A win is a win, and we practise democracy. He (Anwar) should not use the young to pursue his personal interest to become prime minister. Instead, he should educate them on the underlining principles of a democratic election where losers must be able to accept winners.
“We should move forward. We will fight again in the next (general) election. I think the people are fed-up with his (Anwar’s) political ways (maneuvering).
“In fact, BN lost in Kadamaian (a state seat in Kota Belud), and we respect the decision and will not victimise voters…instead, we will work hard to win them over again,” he said.
Salleh said this in his speech at a thanksgiving event to mark BN’s convincing victory at the Kota Belud Community Hall here yesterday.
Also present was Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who is also Kota Belud member of parliament.
Salleh, who is also Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief and Usukan state assemblyman, stressed the current BN government was a “majority government” and not minority government.
“We are adopting democracy based on party system. Minority government means no party won more than half of the total seats contested. In the recent election, BN clearly won more than that,” he said.
On talk of opening up the ruling BN to direct membership, the state legislative assembly speaker, in concurrence, said the direct membership drive should be intensified with a new approach to win the hearts and minds of the young ones and urban voters.
Meanwhile, Salleh, who is also Umno Kota Belud chief, thanked the voters for giving BN the mandate to govern Sabah and the country. – Bernama