Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today said ruling coalition Barisan Nasional will not benefit if internal disputes and problems among coalition partners are drawn out in the public.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament today, Najib said the manner in which the Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) issue was brought up by some BN component party leaders last week could give the impression that the coalition was rife with infighting.

parliament stimulas package najib 041108 pc 02 "This would not benefit BN because the people will be thinking that we are facing problems all the time," he said.

Although he admitted that all parties in the coalition felt the need to express their views, they must do so in a proper way via the party channel.

"(So that the people will see that) just because the other component parties have difference in opinions does not mean that we are in dispute all the time," he added.

Last week, Chinese-based MCA's deputy president Chua Soi Lek in a speech had described the Malay supremacy concept as one that implied a master and servant relationship that he felt was unacceptable.

Chua had also said that the Chinese community can accept "Malay leadership but not Malay supremacy".

Chua was then backed by the president of another Chinese-based BN component party Gerakan, Dr Koh Tsu Koon who had issued a statement calling for Umno to replace the concept of Ketuanan Melayu with the "Malay special position" concept.

Caused by a dilemma

Earlier today, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's son Mukhriz slammed both these leaders and said that both had blown the matter out of proportion and alleged that they wanted to be seen as heroes to their communities.

Najib said that the open statements made by these leaders may be caused by a dilemma to rid off the impression received by their supporters that their leaders were not standing up for them.

"The people must understand. Just because you don't read it in the media doesn't mean that their leaders are not speaking up for them which would then prompt them to make open statements," he said.

"So when they make open statements, its not a healthy thing to do. They are in a dilemma. I think the best way to voice their opinion is to use the BN channel," he added.

Najib said that there were more important things to focus on right now - like the global economic slowdown and to get back on the path of economic growth.