Anwar: Time to put aside differences and put country first

KUALA LUMPUR: All Malaysians and political parties should set aside their differences and work towards improving the country, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Prime Minister also said that the outcome of the six state elections, held in accordance with all electoral rules and regulations, should be respected.

“After we fought hard (in the state polls), this is the time for everyone across all parties, despite winning or losing, to unite and uphold peace,” said Anwar during a brief press conference at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur here.

Anwar also assured Malaysians that the unity government would work even harder following the state polls and it would be business as usual on Monday.

“We will work hard and continue to serve the people, in line with the aspirations of Economy Madani,” he said.

Anwar also commended the unity government for securing Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Penang.

“This happened due to unity between all parties in the government,” he said.

At the same time, Anwar said the outcome of the state polls showed the status quo was maintained, with Perikatan Nasional retaining Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

“In democracy, we must respect the decision of the rakyat and accept the outcome of the polls,” he said.

Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional did better in the six states, with a clean sweep of all 32 state seats in Terengganu.

The coalition managed to win 22 seats in Selangor, a whopping increase from two seats in the 14th General Election.

Perikatan also gained five state seats in Negri Sembilan compared with none in 2018.

In Kedah, the coalition has won 33 seats out of 36.

Perikatan has also managed to maintain its hold in Kelantan, winning 43 out of 45 state seats.

In Penang, it won a total of 11 out of 40 seats.