Sarawak CM urges Barisan to stay the moderate path – Bernama
The moderate approach and consensus building among Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties must be maintained as these have been the main factors for the BN's continued success in administering the country since independence, said Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.
He said this was important because lately there were extremist movements which if left unchecked could destroy the multi-racial harmony the country has enjoyed all this while.
"Looking back as an old man, I see that there is some danger of fanaticism, and extremism on both sides and sometimes the moderates are caught in the middle.
"BN or before that Perikatan (BN's predecessor) have been able to rule the country because we take a moderate approach, not an extremist approach, and it is this (moderate approach) that has saved us all this many years. It has been proven moderation in politics has sustained us all this many-many years.
"I don’t like people using 'pendatang' and the like, we don’t speak like that in Sarawak, we are all Malaysians," Adenan (pic) said when opening a Barisan Nasional (BN) youth retreat programme in Kuching tonight.
Also present were Youth and Sports Minister and BN youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Sarawak BN youth chief and Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The retreat which is being attended by 350 members from BN Youth and three non-governmental organisations ends on November 23.
Adenan added that it was the responsibility of the moderates to voice out what they felt was right.
"On the danger of extremism it is for us the moderates to speak up for moderation. We are the majority, the majority cannot be silenced but sometimes the problem with us is that we just keep quiet," he said.
Meanwhile, Khairy called on all BN youth members to win over young voters because it is they who will determine the future of the country.
"We must convince them that the BN is their best choice," he said, adding that the diversity the 13 component parties presented had been the hallmark of the BN's success all this while. – Bernama, November 21, 2014.
