ARAU: There is no guarantee that the peace and stability enjoyed by Malaysians can be retained if the opposition takes over the country's administration.
Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Rahman Dahlan said peace and harmony did not come easy for mutiracial country like Malaysia.
He said it took continuous hard work and efforts by Barisan Nasional (BN) and the nation's security forces to bring peace into the country, since gaining independence 60 years ago until today.
Rahman also called on the people to look at the neighbouring countries, which despite practising democracy, were not as peaceful and stable as Malaysia.
"Just look at our surrounding countries, hundreds of kilometres across our borders, where riots, bombings and conflicts took place.
"We should learn the lessons from our neighbours but the problem with us is that we will only appreciate things once they are gone.
"Those who claimed the country will remain secure and peaceful as it has been all these while even if the government changed hands are lying," he said, in his welcoming speech at the Arau Umno Youth and Puteri wings delegates meeting here today.
On another note, Abdul Rahman rubbished claims by opposition that the country was heading into bancruptcy.
Although the country's debt multiplied, the amount was still less that 55 per cent of the Gross Domestic Production (GDP).
"When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stepped down as the prime minister in 2003, the economy size was at RM418 billion and now it has expanded three times to RM1.3 trillion.
"With the current economic capacity, we could afford to increase the debt for development and other projects to benefit the people.
"The accusation that the Malay economy worsened is also not true, judging from the hike in number of Malays performing umrah and also the deposits in Tabung Haji account over the past few years," he said.
Rahman cited the statistic showing in 2009 only 80,000 Malays performed Umrah but the number rose to 310,000 last year.