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The country's 13th general election will be a testament of Malaysia's thriving democracy under the administration of BN, former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam said today.

"First time in history, you see every seat being contested. That's a compliment for BN, as far as I'm concerned. People feel free that they want to compete, people feel free they can criticise... now we are giving the opportunities to everybody.

"That's something which we must appreciate BN... We've created a huge level of middle class of young men and women who are educated, who are able to think for themselves," Musa told the media after launching a coalition of NGOs in Pasir Gudang, together with caretaker Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin.

NONE Khaled ( right ), the former MP for Pasir Gudang, has moved to the state seat of Permas, which falls under Pasir Gudang, in a clear indication that he will succeed Abdul Ghani Othman as the next Johor menteri besar.

Despite the democracy and openness provided by BN for the people to criticise the government, Musa said, he was confident the people would support the ruling coalition come polling day because of its previous performance.

"Never mind they can talk like that, but I have trust that when they look at facts and figures, they will come around to accept that we have proven our track record."

Musa also reiterated that he was always with the BN despite his earlier statement that the country would not go bankrupt under a Pakatan Rakyat rule.

Musa tells Pakatan to stop using his statement

"I've been a member of Umno since the 1960s. I'm still a member of Umno. I've never got out of Umno. I was out of Umno for different reason, but I'm still an Umno member.

"I have not joined the opposition, I have no sympathy for them except for the normal courtesy extended to any opposition political party within the democratic system."

NONE Earlier Musa called on Pakatan to stop using his statement in its election campaign.

Musa served as deputy prime minister under Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration between 1981 and 1986 before resigning his post, citing irreconcilable differences with Mahathir.

He then joined Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's Team B to challenge Mahathir's faction as a candidate for the Umno deputy presidency.

Musa retired from politics after Team B was defeated by Mahathir's camp and Tengku Razaleigh formed Semangat 46.