Najib confident Barisan Nasional can win big in Malaysia general election

(CNA) – Just days before polling in Malaysia’s 14th general election, Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday (May 5) expressed confidence that the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition can win by a wide margin.

The prime minister said his confidence was based on the rounds he had made around the country and briefings from UMNO leaders in each of the locations since campaigning began on Apr 28.

The BN chairman said they included the leaders in Kepala Batas and Tasek Gelugor in Penang which he had visited on Saturday morning.

He noted that based on his observations, BN would retain the two parliamentary seats.

“After that I flew to Ipoh and took a car ride to Sungai Siput, at the hall (where he was to speak), it was so crowded that there were not enough chairs for the people to sit, even the aisles were filled with supporters and I was told that we had a good chance of wresting the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat from the opposition.

“Insya Allah (God willing), if this happens we can win big provided that we can defend the seats that are already in our hands,” he said at a “Meet-the-People” session in Peramu Jaya.

Also present were his wife Rosmah Mansor and BN candidate for the Peramu Jaya state seat Sheikh Mohmed Puzi Sheikh Ali.

Najib, who is defending his Pekan parliamentary seat, said he was very enthusiastic about the latest developments following the briefings from the UMNO leaders.

“My responsibility, as the BN chairman, encompasses (what is happening) nationwide from Perlis to Sabah. And of course, what lingers in my mind is not just about the situation in Pekan but also how we can secure enough seats to form a strong government,” he said.

Najib said he did not care much about the news being uploaded by the opposition on social media as most were fake news, which were intended to portray that the opposition is receiving widespread support.

He also claimed that one of the opposition’s tactics was to bring outsiders to join their political talks.

“I was made to understand that they brought outsiders (to such talks) and later took pictures and uploaded them on social media (portraying) a show of strength. This is their tactic.

Najib added that BN did not have to use such a perception game to deceive or portray a false image to voters.

“Let me tell something, we don’t use such tactics. We just use local voters. That is how we gauge our strength. In fact, we do have the strength of the local (supporters),” he said.