BN promises ‘something exciting’

Realistic: (From left) Abdul Rahman, Khairy and Ti. ‘Voting for BN is voting for continuity of good practices.’

PETALING JAYA: With the country heading towards the general election and Pakatan Harapan having already launched its manifesto, Barisan Nasional has promised “something exciting”.

“Our manifesto will not be very detailed but there will be something exciting that we are going to propose in the manifesto,” the coalition’s Strategic Communications director, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said.

Abdul Rahman, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said its manifesto would touch on the economy, among other things, adding: “We will talk about the people’s economy, national economy, women, children, wages and efforts to mitigate the cost of living. It will cover a wide spectrum of society.”

He noted that since Barisan was the Govern­ment, it already had a lot of documents outlining its aspirations and pledges.

The manifesto, he said, would be read together with the Govern­ment’s promises in the Budget, 11th Malay­sia Plan 2016-2020 and 2050 National Transformation (TN50).

Asked when the manifesto would be launched, Abdul Rahman pointed out in the past elections, Barisan’s manifesto was revealed only after the dissolution of Parliament.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jama­luddin said Pakatan’s manifesto was “poison laced with sugar”, noting that the future generation would have to pay a huge debt for some of these “reckless promises”.

MCA publicity spokesman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said the manifesto had nothing for the Chinese.

“Are they so comfortable with the Chinese votes that they no longer bother to introduce policies for the community?” he said.

Ti said Pakatan’s manifesto ca­­tered towards urban voters, like the pledge to limit the tenures of its chief minister and mentri besar to two terms.

However, he said that if the grouping was serious about this, then Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should quit.

Ti also said Barisan’s manifesto was visible as it comprised the work the Government had been carrying out.

“Voting for Barisan is (voting for) a continuity of good policies,” he said.

Gerakan secretary-general Datuk Liang Teck Meng said Barisan’s manifesto would be “something good” for the people and that it would be “realistic and achievable, not something rhetorical”.

“Our manifesto is always a janji (promise).

“It is not a false or fake hope that cannot be achieved,” he said, urging the people to give their full support to the manifesto to be revealed by Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.