Umno division leaders upset after 11 seats given to PN, says report

 One leader says there is particular dissatisfaction over Wawasan being allocated four seats despite contesting its maiden election.

Some Umno divisional leaders in Negeri Sembilan had already been earmarked as candidates for the Aug 1 polls before the sudden decision.

PETALING JAYA:

Some Umno divisional leaders are reportedly unhappy with the Barisan Nasional leadership for handing over 11 seats to Perikatan Nasional as part of their pact for the Negeri Sembilan state election.

Berita Harian quoted one leader as saying that there was particular dissatisfaction with BN handing four seats to Hamzah Zainudin’s Parti Wawasan Negara, which is contesting in its maiden election.

The leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some divisional leaders had already been earmarked as candidates for the Aug 1 polls.

However, they have been prevented from doing so by BN’s decision to only contest 25 of the 36 seats up for grabs.

The remaining 11 were allocated to PN, with PAS contesting five seats, Wawasan four, and Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party one each.

“Some of the divisional leaders were already prepared to contest, having struggled for Umno and worked for their respective divisions for so long. In the end, they were not given the chance.

“Instead, the seats they were hoping for were handed over to these ‘trusted partners’, causing discontent among them,” said the leader.

The leader said the Umno leadership should have prioritised its own division leaders as candidates instead of giving seats to other parties, especially Wawasan.

He said this made the divisional leaders feel like their contributions had been meaningless when they had worked tirelessly in their respective areas and had become a familiar face to voters.

“Handing over seats to a relatively ‘new’ party is unnecessary,” he said, referring to Wawasan, which was only recently rebranded from Parti Cinta Malaysia.

He also said Umno grassroots in Negeri Sembilan were more willing to work with PAS, expressing concern that this could affect the election outcome in the four seats contested by Wawasan.

BN and PN have an electoral pact for the Negeri Sembilan polls. The four seats being contested by Wawasan are Klawang, Sikamat, Mambau and Gemas.

BN did not win these seats during the 2023 state election.

Wawasan is composed of multiple former Umno leaders, including Hamzah, Rais Yatim, Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, Ronald Kiandee and Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

These leaders, except for Rais, had left Umno for Bersatu between 2018 and 2019 after BN fell from federal power. Rais was sacked alongside Rafidah Aziz and the late Daim Zainuddin. - FMT