JOHOR BARU: Barisan Nasional must be brave enough to change to make itself relevant to the younger generation who have no recollection of the coalition’s past contributions to the country, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
To not do so would be to condemn the BN to the fate of parties such as the Congress Party of India, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and Indonesia’s Golkar Party, the deputy prime minister added.
These parties played a crucial role in bringing independence to their respective countries and had ruled them for decades starting from the 1940s but were eventually voted out of government, he said.
The BN was at a point where a new generation of voters, born in the 1970s and 1980s, had little appreciation of its contributions during the quest for independence, the Confrontation and the communist insurgency, Najib said.
“They have different political values and tastes. The way we engage them must also be different. They don’t read the newspapers, they go to the Internet,” Najib told the Johor Former Elected Representatives Council (Mubarak) at a dinner here.
Young, mostly first-time, voters made up a sizable chunk of the electorate during the 12th general election in March.
It is believed their votes played a significant role in the BN’s losses to the Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah.
“The 12th general election has changed our political structure. We cannot just harp on our achievements in opposing the Malayan Union, struggle for Merdeka and during the Confrontation.
“Some of the voters do not even remember these things. We cannot be a party that is only identified with the past. We have to appeal to the younger generation.”
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