Gerakan
acting president Chang Ko Youn also tells Barisan Nasional (BN) to fight
extremism and stop punishing the 51% voters who voted against the ruling
coalition at the last general election.
BY
Admin
KUALA LUMPUR: Lashing out at
Perkasa for its extremism, outgoing Gerakan acting president Chang Ko Youn
today called on the BN not to take ‘revenge’ on the 51% voters who voted
against the ruling government at the May general election.
In his keynote address at the
42nd Gerakan national delegates conference today, Chang also trained his guns
at the Malay rights group Perkasa, led by firebrand Ibrahim Ali.
He said Ibrahim has undermined
the spirit of ‘Merdeka’ and interracial relationship through his statements.
“It is most unfortunate that
extremists like Perkasa gleefully challenge the non-Bumiputeras to either
return to their ancestral lands or migrate to a third country.
“Let me make it clear, in front
of all of you today, that we are all Malaysians and no Malaysian will ever have
to leave this country simply because he does not agree with any policy or
approach.
“We are all Malaysians,
citizens of this nation, and no one can take that away from us,” he told some
2,000 Gerakan members at the conference. Prime Minister and Umno president
Najib Tun Razak was the guest of honour of the delegates conference.
Chang also urged BN to fight
extremism internally, as how it does internationally, and to ensure equal
protection and application of the law on those who threaten the country’s peace
and stability.
At the media conference later,
Chang equalled Perkasa to the right-wing Tea Party in the US and said Gerakan
was pushing for BN to condemn the NGO.
Asked about Najib’s lack of
action against Perkasa for its offensive remarks, Chang said he was not sure if
Najib had indeed criticised Perkasa before, but he “definitely does not endorse
the statements”.
Don’t punish the 51%
On a separate matter, the
former Perak executive councillor also urged BN not to punish the 51% of voters
who deserted BN in the 13th General Election.
“BN and its component parties
must not thrive in the fault lines of politics rather show humility in victory
and accept that a new way is needed within BN as well.
“A new thinking must support
that new way and the new thinking must encapsulate the hopes and aspirations of
all Malaysians for clean, fair, just and inclusive government,” he said.
He said the failure by the BN
to change will lead to its self-destruction, because its shortcomings will
endear its supporters to cross to the opposition.
He said an in-depth analysis of
BN’s victory in the 13th General Elections (GE13) shows that BN only won the
federal administration with a margin of 44 seats with a combined majority of
25, 968 votes.
BN captured 133 while Pakatan
Rakyat bagged 89 seats in the GE battle.
“Hence, we should not take our
victory in GE13 for granted because it was a lot closer than many of us realise
because 12,985 Malaysians voting the other way could have changed the results,”
he said.
Standardised Admission Test for
University
He said BN must transform
itself into more inclusive coalition which constantly seek for consensus and
adopt a more equitable power-sharing.
“I appeal to the YAB Dato Seri
BN chairman (Najib) to ensure these changes are made.
“The component parties have
borne the brunt of the urban rejection of BN resulting in significant losses
for MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, LDP and SUPP,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chang also called on
the government to reform the admission process into public universities and
introduce a standardised admission test (SAT).
“An admission system that is
equitable, that also takes into account the socio-economic background of all
applicants, will give true meaning to meritocracy, stem the brain drain and
most importantly contribute to a more inclusive Malaysia,” he said.
Gerakan would also conduct its
internal polls in the NDC today, as some 2200 delegates were set to elect a new
leadership to lead the party for the next three years.
Penang Gerakan chief Teng Chang
Yeow is pitted against vice president Mah Siew Keong in a straight fight for
president post.
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