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PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (pic) has urged Malaysians to exercise wisdom and rationality when choosing the party that will helm the government.
“The 14th General Election will determine the ability of our country and society in facing previously unheralded challenges,” Abdullah said in a statement on Saturday (May 5).
He said Malaysia is at the precipice of becoming a developed nation and require a stable government with a strong mandate to overcome the challenges ahead.
“Any government comprising people of differing and opposing political ideologies who only come together for the sole purpose of wresting political power will not and cannot be good for the country.
“It is unwise to elect leaders who share the same bed but yet have different dreams,” he said.
Better known as Pak Lah, the former Umno president, said Malaysia’s tremendous progress since independence was largely possible due to its political stability steered by sincere leaders who formulated progressive policies.
“Throughout the years we also consistently had a smooth transition of power from one Prime Minister to another which ensured the country’s continued stability and success,” he said.
“An election is not a game of chance; neither is it an excuse to change for the sake of changing as there is no system that is perfect.
“Malaysians should be honest with themselves and carefully evaluate the electoral promises made by competing parties and rationally distinguish between what is real and achievable and what are mere promises made just to fish for votes,” he added.
Abdullah said as a former leader, he hopes to see a higher level of political maturity among the candidates.
He encouraged voters to vote out of a sense of duty to the country and not to merely seize power for power’s sake.
“The people’s interests should be the primary concern; and not the agenda or political ambition of any particular group of individual,” said Abdullah.
“I plead to my fellow citizens to exercise their democratic rights and duties peacefully and responsibly without ill feelings and animosity.
“Whether we progress or regress, live in misery or prosperity; live in dignity or ignomity, is all in our hands and for us to decide,” he added.
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