KUALA LUMPUR: Do not question my prerogative to appoint ministers, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He told the Gerakan national delegates conference that he appointed its president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon as Minister in the Prime Ministers Department because he valued Gerakans participation in the Government.
I appointed Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon because I value the role of Gerakan. I want the voice of Gerakan members to reach the Government, he said in his opening speech at the partys national delegates conference on Sunday.
Najib also said the appointment was made to assist in Gerakans rejuvenation as it picks up its pieces after losing heavily in the 2008 general elections, notably losing Penang as their stronghold after governing the island state for more than 30 years.
Dont question it, this is my right as Prime Minister. I dont do this because I want to flaunt my power but I made the decision in the interest of Barisan Nasional, he said.
Najib made the appointment in April and tasked Dr Koh to promote national unity and implement government key performance indices (KPI) and national key results areas (N-KRA).
Sri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz had, last week in the Dewan Rakyat, called for the resignations of Dr Koh and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
Mohamad had said Dr Koh had failed in his duties as minister while Ong had lost the confidence of his own party.
Najib. who is also Barisan Nasional chairman, stressed that Gerakan and other Barisan Nasional component parties had to get their internal affairs in order quickly and begin the process of instituting change for the better in their ranks.
Gerakan must move together like a train. So do MCA, MIC, PPP and all the others. If you have troubles, solve them quickly. What are you waiting for? he asked.
Najib also stressed that Barisan as a ruling coalition was relevant in the past, present and future.
It is not because we say so but because we are willing to change. We hear the voice of Malaysia and we will continue to commit ourselves to the people of Malaysia, he said.
He also reiterated his objective as a Prime Minister was to lead all Malaysians.
I am not just Umno chairman but also BN chairman. I am not a Prime Minister only for the Malays but for all Malaysians, he said.
Maybe before the PM starts making these kind of remarks, he should be backing up his belief with hard facts about the performance of the minister in question. After all, his "rallying cry" this days are "people first, performance now". So since the people has a question about his minister's performance, he'd better has performance data to back it up.
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