More defections? I don’t think so, says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 – Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has dismissed talk that there will be more Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives defecting to Pakatan Rakyat.

“These are all rumours ... I don’t think so,” he said
when asked about speculation in the wake of Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim’s announcement yesterday that he had joined the Pakatan Rakyat.

Earlier Najib and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor joined thousands of people at the Chinese New Year open house organised by the MCA at Wisma MCA here.

Describing Nasarudin’s action as unexpected, Najib said he hoped that the Umno veteran could think carefully his decision to join Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a Pakatan Rakyat component member.

The Umno deputy president said he was made to understand that Nasarudin’s action was due to several factors. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, Najib, when met by reporters at the Gerakan open house here, admitted that Nasarudin’s move had taken many in Umno by surprise.

“We heard about this two days ago but it is still a shock,” he said.

Najib said Umno and BN elected representatives should understand that the party had done a lot of good deeds for the people and the country.

“It is not right to abandon the party because of personal problems or dissatisfaction at a time when the party needs our support,” he said.

Najib, who is BN deputy chairman, said he would meet Perak BN chairman Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali today to discuss the issue.

With the crossover, the Perak Pakatan Rakyat government now has 32 seats to BN’s 27.

In a statement posted on PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s website, Nasarudin said, he made the decision after considering the interests of his constituents.

In the March 8 general election, Nasarudin, who polled 6,556 votes, defeated PKR candidate Capt (Rtd) Usaili Alias with a 2,068-vote majority. – Bernama