Government decisions are not made by only one component party in the ruling coalition and therefore all member parties must stand together to support and defend those decisions, said Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

He said mutual understanding among Barisan Nasional component parties is important if a government policy is to be implemented successfully.

"We must remember that a decision by the BN government is not the decision of one component party. It is not true for people to allege that only one component party is calling the shots while the rest just have to follow and nod their heads," he stressed.

All the decisions are debated and discussed in details first to determine their effects on the future of different races, people and the country before they are finalised, said Mahathir who has been the country's Prime Minister for 21 years.

"This is the time when the component parties will 'quarrel' among themselves until one final, unanimous decision is reached," he told some 2,000 Gerakan delegates and members at the opening of the party's 31st National Delegates Conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Shared responsibility

Mahathir went on to urge all component parties "not to be afraid or scared" about a decision made by the government as it is a shared responsibility of all parties.

They do not have to worry about accusations and objections made by the people, especially those from the ethnic groups which are also represented in the BN, about a government action, he added.

"The component parties should not feel insecure and threatened when they are confronted by religious and racial extremists.

"They should not worry about losing popularity and influence in their community because what stands firmly behind them is a government that has been mandated by the people to take care of their affairs," he said.

He added they are racial and religious fanatics with narrow views who must be fought bravely by BN component parties for the good of a peaceful multiracial society.

Mahathir's statement had sparked off speculation that it was for the ears for Gerakan, a party which last month said it disagreed with the government's proposal to teach Mathematics and Science in English in Year One.

Gerakan had argued that it was best for students to acquire knowledge in the two subjects in their mother-tongue during the first six years of education. It has also suggested that bilingual text books be introduced for the two subjects.

Collective stand

The four Chinese-based BN component parties Gerakan, MCA, Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) had later met with the Prime Minister to present their collective stand on the issue. They have not revealed details of their stand since then.

The Umno supreme council in July had announced that the two subjects will be taught in English starting next year in Year One, Form One, and Lower Six. This proposal had met with strong objections from various education groups and academics, particularly the vernacular ones.

At a press conference after his opening speech, Mahathir said once a decision or policy is made by the government, all the component parties are duty-bound to explain it to the people to help the implementation.

Asked if Gerakan's objection to the language switch was indicative of a lack of consensus among the component parties, the prime minister explained that there was no opposition to the language issue and Gerakan was just interested in how it was to be implemented.

"But it is all right. We will decide on that. I haven't punched his nose," quipped Mahathir, pointing to Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik who was sitting beside him.