IPOH: It is important for Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan to uphold their “sincerity pact” for the unity government to continue governing and to remain strong, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said he was confident that the unity government would continue to be in charge come the next general election.
However, for this to be realised, he said both coalitions must uphold what he termed as their “sincerity pact”.
Elaborating on the pact, the Barisan chairman and Umno president said before the unity government took shape at the federal level, Perak was the first to form such a government at the state level.
“Despite Pakatan winning 24 state seats and Barisan only nine, they (Pakatan) made way sincerely for Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad of Umno to become the Mentri Besar, when they could pick a Mentri Besar from their side.
“Not only in Perak, but in Pahang also where Barisan and Perikatan Nasional had the same number of seats, and support from Pakatan made it possible for a Mentri Besar from Barisan to be sworn in.
“That sincerity bound us together at that time, and the same sincerity now has brought us to the height of success. I hope this pact will continue to last in the future.
“I always tell myself that to gain success is difficult, but to uphold it is even harder,” he said in closing the Perak unity government convention held at a hotel here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid said despite having 153 MPs standing strong with the unity government, this did not mean they could remain in a comfortable zone.
“I am confident that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the support from parliamentarians would continue to increase, to ensure that the Madani government continues to remain strong at the Federal level.
“In the context of Perak, I am confident under the leadership of Saarani, Barisan will not just be left with nine seats but will gain more in the next elections,” he added.
Earlier, Saarani in his winding-up speech, said youths need to be convinced of the new political narrative being spearheaded by the unity government as the politics of the future.
He said it was a challenge to overcome the scepticism of young people towards politics and the administration.
Saarani said there needed to be concrete action to illustrate that the unity government was really able to initiate reforms in matters considered important by the young.
“The administrative machinery needs to ensure that every policy to be implemented must take into account the ideals and expectations of the young,” he added.
