By Clara Chooi
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today predicted that Barisan Nasional (BN) was “likely” to continue its rule after the next polls with a weak government but said this would be an undesirable outcome as the pact would be preoccupied with its own survival instead of the country’s development.
The country’s former prime minister pointed out that without a strong two-thirds majority in Parliament, a government could easily be toppled from its perch through mass defections.
“So the government is more interested in trying to survive and not ensuring that this country grows and prospers.
“When a leader is preoccupied with survival, then attention to businesses, the commercial industry, would be much less,” he told the Perdana Leadership’s CEO Forum 2012 here.
Dr Mahathir (picture) repeatedly stressed the need for a stronger mandate for BN to ensure Malaysia’s prosperity, saying this was also necessary to help the government implement policies that may make them unpopular but would also help boost the country’s coffers.
“I say a strong government is necessary if we are going to do unpleasant things. We cannot be pleasant all the time.
“A government has to annoy the people. If the government wants to be popular all the time, then it would be doing the wrong thing,” he said.
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