Offensive against Pak Lah a ‘distraction’

Penang Umno claims Pakatan Rakyat is 'spinning' to distract voters from the real issues in the state.

BUTTERWORTH: Pakatan Rakyat is trying to distract voters here from the issues which are plaguing its administration in Penang, claimed state Umno Youth chief Sheikh Hussein Mydin.

He said this strategy was evident in view of the fact that the Pakatan partners – PAS, PKR and DAP – were riddled with disagreements over issues such as “hudud” to affordable housing and over a leaked recording where one leader allegedly called Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng “arrogant and cocky”.

And what better way to distract the people than by launching an offensive against Barisan Nasional, including on former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Penang, said Sheikh Hussein.

“For Pakatan, its policy is that attack is the best form of defence. It is often critical of BN. It has become too preoccupied with attacking us until it has forgotten how to govern the state. There are many examples here,” he said.

Sheikh Hussein was responding to a statement by the Penang Malay Congress president Rahmad Isahak that BN stands to lose the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat and two other state seats if Abdullah chooses to retire from active politics.

Rahmad based his prediction on the fact that Abdullah, who is better known as Pak Lah, is a stalwart in the constituency since 1978, and that his absence would create a vacuum which BN may not be able to fill in time for the next general election.

Rahmad expects PAS to benefit greatly if Pak Lah decides to retire, as the former has a chance to wrest Kepala Batas. PAS has been stepping up its presence in the area since 2008.

To this, Sheikh Hussein said Umno believes that the congress led by Rahmad is supporting DAP, although it has labelled itself as an apolitical entity here with a non-governmental organisation status.

He accused Rahmad of intentionally trying to shift the focus of attention towards Pak Lah when the issue should be about the performance of the present state government.

Pak Lah to retire?

According to Sheikh Hussein, Pakatan wants to force BN to focus on its traditional strongholds such as Tasek Gelugor and Kepala Batas, as it is worried that it will lose its current parliamentary seats in Batu Kawan and Balik Pulau.

He said Pakatan is working day and night to ensure that BN can successfully defend Tasek Gelugor and Kepala Batas from the anticipated onslaught by Pakatan.

In another development, Pak Lah remained tight-lipped to a question on whether he will be retiring from active politics.

When met at a function in a private college here on Sunday, Pak Lah smiled and said “he did not know if he would” continue to defend his Kepala Batas parliamentary seat.

Speculations about his political future have heightened since a report on an online news portal indicated that the former prime minister was mulling full retirement from politics.