KUALA PILAH: Only Barisan Nasional can provide an experienced team of Cabinet ministers to assist the Prime Minister in steering Malaysia back to its high standing again, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (pic).
The Barisan deputy chairman said it was pointless to have a capable prime minister whose team is made up of inexperienced individuals.
“Our choice of prime minister is Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and he will have many experienced leaders to pick from to assist him.
“We have, among others, several mentris besar and former Cabinet ministers who will be able to do so and help the prime minister make Malaysia great again,” he said when met on the campaign trail for Barisan candidate in Kuala Pilah Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan.
Mohamad, who is contesting the Rembau parliamentary seat, said Malaysia once used to be the spokesman for Third World countries and whose views were respected globally.
“When Malaysia spoke at the United Nations, including on matters such as Palestine, the global community used to take note of this.
“We used to have events such as the Langkawi Dialogue where many leaders would attend and hear what Malaysia had to say on important issues.
“But sadly, all this changed after 2018 and our voice became muted internationally,” he said, adding that the ministers in the new government then were inexperienced, with some making ridiculous statements.
He said the country also registered impressive economic growth pre-GE14 when it was under Barisan’s rule.
“At one time, our growth was the second most impressive in Asia. But after GE14, our standing dropped and during Perikatan Nasional’s rule, our growth was actually negative,” he said.
Mohamad said when Ismail Sabri became prime minister, the economy again grew by leaps and bounds, adding that this was due to the experience of Barisan and Umno in running the country.
On Nov 11, Bank Negara said Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 14.2% in the third quarter of the year, which was stronger than what most economists had predicted.
“People are beginning to have faith in Malaysia again and investors are coming back.
“The younger generation knows that stability and experience is the best formula to steer Malaysia back to greatness,” said Mohamad.
“Before the Johor state election, young voters would generally not vote for us. This was also seen during GE14 when we lost badly in some areas.
“But all these have now changed and we are confident they will again vote Barisan in GE15,” he said.