Najib ignores falling support, says Pakatan worse off than BN
Datuk Seri Najib Razak has brushed aside his falling popularity and instead says that Pakatan Rakyat is in more turmoil than Barisan Nasional (BN).
The prime minister said the ruling coalition’s victory in the last two by-elections in Teluk Intan and Pengkalan Kubor was proof that voter support was returning to BN.
"In terms of politics, our success in the by-elections, we hope such successes will enable us to prepare more for the challenges in the coming general election," he said after chairing BN's supreme council meeting last night.
The latest survey by Merdeka Center showed that Najib's approval ratings had slipped six percentage points to 48% this month from the last survey done in August due to dissatisfaction over fuel subsidy cuts.
He had scored a 54% approval rating in August after taking charge of operations to recover the flight MH17 wreckage, its black boxes and victims, when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over eatern Ukraine in July.
Last night, the BN chairman also urged BN component parties to strengthen their respective positions as the opposition pact was in more turmoil than they were.
"We need to look internally, strengthen each party and show the commitment to ensure BN's continued success," he said.
“We can improve on our cooperation – we look at the opposition and they are more in turmoil than BN.”
The Selangor menteri besar impasse which dragged on for months saw the PR parties of PKR, DAP and PAS clashing over the matter and affected ties between the three partners.
The Pengkalan Kubor by-election was also considered by critics a test of unity between the Pakatan parties, where PAS later lost in the by-election with no senior PKR and DAP leaders helping in the campaign.
Najib called on all BN component parties to strengthen its cooperation through joint programmes and cooperation.
“If the coalition shows positive leadership, our supporters will understand what we are doing,” he said. – November 1, 2014.
