Jun 25, 11 | MalaysiaKini
Najib Razak said victory in the general election was most important for Umno and BN because in politics, only victory would bring them meaning.
Hence, the prime minister and Umno president said, in a general election there was no such term as runner-up like in other contests which also offered prizes for the runner-up.
“In a general election, only becoming champion (winner) will have meaning for us… and we know that emerging as the runner-up means that we’ve lost in the elections.
“(And) we know the fate of the losing party,” said Najib when opening the Selayang Umno division 23rd delegates’ meeting at the Perangsang Templer Golf Club in Rawang today.
He said in today’s situation and political landscape, what was important was to effect change and revitalisation because “if we stick to the old ways, we can win the old war, but winning the new war is not a certainty for us”.
The prime minister said that in a parliamentary democracy system, no political party other than Umno and BN had performed brilliantly in terms of the success achieved.
BN record no guarantee of victory
Nevertheless, he said, Umno and BN were aware that past performance, no matter how awesome, would not guarantee that the party and coalition would continue to remain in power.
He said this was because the country’s political landscape, its surrounding environment and society’s thinking had changed much over the years, and he listed the information revolution and increasing level of education as among the factors.
“We cannot just be proud of our glorious history… when faced with threats we cannot be doing nothing, not wanting to bring change and to revitalise. If we are afraid of change, others will overcome us because they have effected change while we haven’t… and we cannot just be proud of symbols and images when the substance is lacking.”
In this context, Najib urged party members to create a winning alliance by forging relations and links with various levels and groups in society in their respective areas to ensure public support for the party.