Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister says...

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin



1. BN supreme council apt avenue to discuss second deputy chairman post

PENAMPANG: The proposal to create the post of a second Barisan Nasional deputy chairman to be appointed from among component parties in Sabah and Sarawak should be brought to the coalition's supreme council, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

"I think any proposal can be brought before the top leadership. We have a council where all leaders sit and submit any matter. "Normally, a decision is reached by consensus," he said.

Upko had recently proposed that a second deputy chairman be appointed from Sabah or Sarawak and that the person be made second deputy prime minister.

On the allocation of seats for the coming general election, Muhyiddin said that component parties would "most likely" contest in the same constituencies they did in the 2008 polls "except if there is an agreement for a swap."

2. Status quo likely on seat allocation for BN component parties

KOTA KINABALU: Seat allocations for Barisan Nasional component parties are likely to remain at the status quo as no new seats are available in the next general election, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Saturday.

He said if the Election Commission carried out a delineation exercise - usually done once every eight to 10 years - then it would be possible for more parliamentary and state seats to be shared with component parties.

"As there has been no delineation, there are no new seats to share. I think it is likely that the seat sharing formula will remain status quo (among parties)."

Usually when there was an increase in seats through a delineation exercise, then parties would ask for more, he told reporters after opening the 13th triennial meeting of Parti Upko, which is headed by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

"It is normal for parties to hope to be given more seats. It has been a practice for seat allocation to be based on consensus, through discussion at both national and state levels," he said.


He said it was also unlikely any of the parties would want to give up seats allocated to them in the previous elections. However, he said Barisan has no objections to any seat swapping among component parties.

Earlier, in his speech, he urged Barisan leaders to go to the ground and meet people as such simple gestures would help them gain stronger support.