Friday, August 15, 2008

Tengku Razaleigh On The Permatang Pauh by-election

The Permatang Pauh by-election
15 Aug, 2008

Permatang Pauh is no ordinary by-election. The stakes are very high.

a) This is the first electoral test of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi since the disastrous results of the General Elections, which saw us losing to the Opposition in four states, including Penang Four months later, we have the chance to prove that Barisan is intact under our present leadership and able to recover this key state.

b) The Opposition is fielding its de facto leader. Given the controversies of the past weeks, and Dato' Seri Anwar's boast that victory in Permatang Pauh would be the Opposition's first step towards Putrajaya, Prime Minister Abdullah must lead us to a result that shows the emptiness of any such plans. We need to lay to rest the impression that we have lost the confidence of the rakyat and that our hold on the government is tenuous. The entire country and indeed, the whole world, is watching.

We need to prove that Barisan has heard the voice of the people and remains the better alternative. As a son of Penang and the Member of Parliament of neighbouring Kepala Batas, Abdullah is naturally positioned to lead us to a convincing victory. As the Chairman of BN, and the Chairman of BN Penang, Abdullah knows he holds primary responsibility for the result. This is therefore a test of his legitimacy that he can and must pass.

YBM Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
MP, Gua Musang

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