Malaysians are urged to provide BN the mandate to rule following the promise by Najib Abdul Razak that the coalition will fix its past mistakes, said Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan.

Speaking to reports in Pulau Pangkor, Perak today, Ahmad said Najib’s admission that BN had erred showed his sincerity, adding that it was not easy for any chief executive of a country to do so.

“He was willing. This is a sacrifice which shows his personality and integrity. He is willing to apologise on behalf of other leaders on (BN’s) past mistakes,” said Ahmad, according to a report by Bernama today.

At a function in Kuala Ketil, Kedah last night, Najib admitted that BN’s unprecedented losses during the 2008 general election was due to the coalition’s mistakes, to which he apologised.

He also said that he accepted the results of the election and vowed to fix the said mistakes. This was the second time Najib apologised in a week. The first was in Klang, Selangor on Feb 26.

‘Forgive us, let us move forward’

In SUNGAI PETANI, Kedah BN chief Ahmad Basha Md Hanipah said Najib’s apology was proof of BN’s sincerity and maturity.

“The public perception was that we lost because of our mistakes. That is why the premier said ‘forgive us’. The past stays in the past. We want to move forward,” said Ahmad Basha.

He said the people of Kedah must be with BN in order to wrest the state from PAS and implement a rapid development policy.

Ahmad Bashah added that Kedah BN accepted Najib’s call for them not to fight over seat allocations.

He said that he did not want to see state BN leaders raise the issue with grassroots and hope all of them would be united as one team.