Pakatan Will Fail To Fulfil Promises, Says Najib. If There's No Umno-Style Race Discrimination, It's Good Enough

The electorate will soon see the gap between promises made during election campaigns and the likelihood them being fulfilled, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“During the elections, anybody can make all sorts of promises. When they mentioned reduction in assessment tax, some voters may have been taken in by it.

“When the time comes, they will face difficulty to fulfil their election promises,” he told reporters after the Defence Ministry’s workers day celebration yesterday.

He was asked to comment on the plan by the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor Government to give incentive to ratepayers because it was not ready to implement the proposed 20% reduction of assessment tax as promised during elections.

“This is what the electorate will need to determine because in future elections, there will be more promises.

“We must have the maturity and wisdom to decide for ourselves whether the promises are realistic or merely political promises,” he said.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who is an Umno supreme council member, said it was not easy to fulfil the promises, as there were many considerations to be taken into account.

Among the Pakatan promises, he added, was free education for all. “It might have been possible previously as there were only one or two public universities but now there are 20 public universities and 37 private universities.

“If we just do that and don’t use any money to develop the economy, what will the graduates do when they finish their education?” he asked.

This, he added, was the difference between a government that used populist policies and a government with experience.

“People must be wise and be able to differentiate between an empty promise and a responsible promise,” he said.

****** Najib surely knows that the public, at least a large segment of them, are not fools who can be taken for a ride by anyone. They know that at this point in time with a hostile federal government in place, the Pakatan Rakyat states are hampered in their capacity to rule effectively. Any blame for shortcomings therefore will fall on the lap of the Umno-led government and NOT on Pakatan Rakyat. The people do not expect miracles overnight even if Umno is terrified that Pakatan might get things done. The average man on the street understands and appreciates that under the current political circumstances, election promises will take time to materialise and are not in any inordinate hurry. After all Umno took fifty years, and at the end proved it can only divide the nation.

More importantly the people will be satisfied if Pakatan-ruled governments continue as they are doing now without overtly and covertly discriminating on the basis of race and religion. We've had enough of demagogues and racists to last for the next ten generations. No tears will be shed if Umno and their cronies slip into oblivion. In fact we'll all thank God the day that they do.