THE upcoming elections in six states cannot be used as a yardstick to gauge voters’ acceptance of the unity government, Barisan Nasional secretary-general Zambry Abdul Kadir said.

He said the administration led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should be evaluated after five years, or after the end of this term, ahead of the 16th general election (GE16).

“Political dynamics cannot be placed solely on the results of the state elections in one place; what is important is the end result. The federal election involves the parliament (and we need to see) whatever the result is in GE16, maybe in five years or in the next four and a half years.

“During this period, we will also see rapidly changing political dynamics. Changes in perspective, issues that arise and also the performance of the government at that time. The people will rationally assess the government and whether it can really bring success, in the context of politics, economy and people’s daily lives.

“Some people are saying the benchmark is the upcoming six state elections. We should remove that thought,” said Zambry during an exclusive interview session with Umno Online last night.

Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor and Negri Sembilan will have their state elections this year after they did not have it simultaneously in last year’s general election.

Zambry, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, said the government’s focus today is to rebuild the country, and its success will be judged by the people at the end of its term.

“We cannot play with sentiments, there are (parties playing with) sentiments, playing with race and religion issues and so on, as if we feel that these are the issues that will determine the rise and fall (of a government).

“In terms of its struggle, philosophy and goals, Umno has not changed.

“But at the same time, our focus is to take the country forward because the people’s focus is how the government can develop the country, the people’s welfare, economic development and poverty eradication. These are the factors the public will think about later,” said Zambry who is also foreign minister.

The opposition is also said to be playing on the sentiment that the government of the day will not last a full-term, as its members were not satisfied when they failed to form a government after the last general election.

“They will continue to play, (like) dissatisfaction with what is happening, as if they put the probability to design a government at the initial stage (after GE15) but the opposite happened.

“Because of the feeling of dissatisfaction and revenge to ensure that the government does not last, a tuan guru (PAS president Hadi Awang) predicted a few months ago that the government will only last six months.

“This describes their purpose, (while) what should be done is, they should support the government of the day instead of feeling dissatisfied,” he added.

Zambry said the parties that form the government today also have strong ties, which can even be seen through the organisation of the Unity Government Convention scheduled for May 14 at the World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s another important phase in national politics, for us to convince the people and build their trust in the government. We want the support of the people to continue to lead the country with political stability.

“With this convention, we create an understanding, like Muafakat Nasional, which we hoped would become a new platform but we are now destined to end up in this platform,” he said.

He explained that the convention will be an avenue for the strengthening members who make up the unity government today.

“This is the best platform for the people and for the country because it represents various parties from all levels. Parties from the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak, with 148 members of parliament in it, with a two-thirds majority.

“This gives new confidence and needs to be built, placed on a common platform, a spirit of common solidarity, to convince the people that this is what will carry our country through over the next five years and GE16 later,” said Zambry. – April 20, 2023.