KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional (BN) should offer a realistic political product covering five key aspects to attract the support of the people of Sabah and Sarawak in the 15th general election (GE15), said a leader of BN component party Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).
PBRS Youth chief Edwin Laimin said BN should not come up with a product that would ensnare itself, such as by promising to abolish education loans or reduce fuel prices as was done by another political coalition before.
“The main dream of the people encompasses five matters, namely economic stability; job opportunities; education and skills; infrastructure; and internet network,” he said when speaking as a panellist at a forum entitled “Barisan Nasional: Building Hope for the Younger Generation” here today.
The forum was part of the events organised at the 2022 BN Convention, which was held in conjunction with BN’s 48th anniversary celebration here today.
He said the people of Sabah and Sarawak were placing high hopes on the next government to resolve the unemployment problem because the two states accounted for the most number of jobless youth among the 768,700 unemployed people in the country.
Earlier, special adviser to the prime minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said at a forum on “The Future of Barisan Nasional” that the coalition should undertake an agenda of reforms to face GE15.
Azalina said among the matters it should fight for is the formulation of the Anti-Party Hopping Act before GE15 to ensure political stability.
She said the law would deter winning candidates from switching parties.
“Secondly, we need to have an act on political donations; in Western countries, they have a system for donating. We have to change the platform. Thirdly, have a constituency development fund to help elected representatives on any side,” she added.
Azalina, who is Pengerang MP, said BN should also limit the term of the prime minister, besides ensuring the attorney-general is a non-political appointment and that Parliament and the judiciary remain independent. – Bernama, June 1, 2022
