‘BN must rise to please Malaysians’
June 24, 2010, Thursday
MIRI: The changing political attitudes of Malaysians, who are now more cynical and well-informed of national issues, require the Barisan Nasional (BN) to deliver on its plans and promises speedily.“The public expect results,” said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein in an interview with The Borneo Post at the local airport before returning to Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The government has identified the areas to work on to produce the desired results.
During the 2008 general elections the BN lost its two-thirds majority in parliament, the first since 1969.
The opposition coalition dubbed the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) made the biggest gains in parliament in recent history, winning 82 out of the 222 seats, and bagged five states in Peninsular Malaysia.
Hishammuddin said it served as a reminder that the people are now demanding deeds and results that benefit them.
The former BN national youth chief and current Umno vice-president had just arrived from Mulu where he attended a gathering of state BN leaders.
A flight delay back to Kuala Lumpur gave him a chance to talk to The Borneo Post for an hour.
“We are working hard to solve the people’s problems such as clearing backlogs in government departments, based on measurable standards like the KPI (Key Performance Index),” he said.
He was referring to the administration’s implementation of a systematic way to measure performance, which is required to keep the many government departments up to the mark.
“The Penans and various indigenous people in Sarawak have been identified as one of the NKRAs (National Key Result Areas). As such the government gives them special attention and going directly to meet them,” he said.
In noting that the challenge is tremendous due to the huge number of applications and backlog of cases under his ministry, he stressed that the government is serious in getting the job done.
“I love Sarawak. It’s the only state to have the 1Malaysia concept already in place. Situations that divide the people and lead to racial hatred must not be allowed here.
“With our focus and commitment to action, we will get there,” he said.
The state election is due by July next year. The last one was in 2006 when the BN won 62 out of the 71 seats on the back of 61 out of 62 seats previously.
The narrow defeat in the Sibu by-election last month has raised eyebrows as the state has been regarded as a BN safe deposit at the national level, and the ruling coalition has rolled up its sleeves to face the coming state elections.
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