Prime Minister Najib Razak said the future of the nation is too valuable to be gambled away and it is considered a 'taboo' ( pantang ) to hand over the country to the opposition.

Speaking to the Johor Umno delegates, Najib, who is also the Umno president, said every Umno member must galvanise their resources and strength to ensure that BN wins in the 13th general election.

Najib Abdul Razak at Umno annual general assembly "We cannot gamble our future, our future is too valuable... It is here (in Johor) where Umno was born, it has contributed a lot to the country. It is a taboo ( pantang ) for us to hand over this country to them (opposition)," he said.

The prime minister said this when opening the combined conference of four Johor Umno divisions at Persada Johor, which was also attended by Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman, who is also the chairman of the Johor Umno liaison body.

The divisions that held their meetings today were the Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi, Kulai and Tanjong Piai.

Describing the opposition as having 'zero credibility", the prime minister said they did nothing to develop the country, but only knew how to criticise, incite and make ridiculous promises.

He said a press report today quoted the view of a pro-opposition analyst at a function held in a church in Petaling Jaya that praised the changes and transformations implemented by the government, but also criticised the opposition which he described as 'lacking credibility'.

"The opposition lack credibility, they not only do not share a common symbol, their policies also differ with too many crises including their stand on the 'hudud' law," he said.

Where’s the shadow cabinet?

In fact, Najib said, the opposition which frequently promoted the slogan ‘Road to Putrajaya’, had yet to have a shadow cabinet that was in line with the parliamentary democracy model.

"They (the opposition) must begin with a shadow cabinet like in the democratic system of the Westminster model in Great Britain.

"In Malaysia where is it (shadow cabinet), it is because they are scared. Scared of giving (Lim) Kit Siang what (position), maybe finance minister, Karpal Singh for law and what to give Mat Sabu, women's minister," he said.

The prime minister said that was why the opposition had "zero credibility", to the extent that they were afraid to form a shadow cabinet.

On the contrary, he said, Umno struggled for changes and transformation which were taking place in the country.

Although in a parliamentary democracy the existence of the opposition in a small number was good, he said, they must play a constructive instead of a destructive role.

He cited Felda and the oil and gas projects in Pengerang as examples, where the opposition tried to refute the project which was good for the people just because of political interest.

In the case of Felda, he said, the opposition made various allegations including the claim that Felda was bankrupt, although in reality, Felda had succeeded to be listed on the KL Bourse.

"If Felda is bankrupt, how can it afford to give RM15,000 to the settlers, their wives and children," he said, adding that the opposition tried to turn around the government's efforts to develop the oil and gas industry in Pengerang.

He said the oil and gas industry in Pengerang would ensure that the people enjoyed the economic spillover including jobs in factories with lucrative income.

As such, Najib said, the BN provided a bright future for the people with a better standard of living compared to the past.

- Bernama

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