KJ: Don’t rush elections when Opposition weak

Umno Youth chief believes Umno should go to war when it is strong and not rely on the enemy's weakness, adding there is need for new seat arrangements with BN parties.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional should not call for early elections just because its political foes are “weak” at the moment, says Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Speaking at an Umno Bandar Tun Razak divisional meeting today, Khairy said some Umno members had approached him and said the general election should be held as soon as possible.

This, the Umno members said, was because the Opposition parties were facing problems and suffering from infighting, while the BN had recently romped to victories in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.

Khairy, however, said he disagreed with such views.

“We go to war when we are strong. We do not rely on the weakness of our enemies.
“If we rely only on our enemies’ weakness, one day they could reunite and we will still face problems.”

Khairy said if Umno focused on strengthening itself and ensuring its election machinery was organised, it would not have to depend on the enemy being weak.

To be strong, Khairy said, Umno needed to be united and this was why it was important to focus on GE14 first, rather than party elections.

He said there was no point in people seeking positions within the party if Umno was defeated in the elections.

Other election strategies, Khairy said, were that winnable candidates be selected and that the right party be allowed to stand in certain areas to ensure maximum support from the people.
He said a new agreement was needed within the BN when it came to the division of seats in the next GE.

Khairy said some parties would stake claims to certain seats because they had previously contested those seats.

However, he said, new seat arrangements could be made with other component parties. It was all about giving and taking.

Khairy, who is also Youth and Sports Minister, said he supported Bandar Tun Razak Umno Division Chairman Rizalman Mokhtar’s suggestion that Umno contest the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat.

In the battle for Bandar Tun Razak in GE13, MCA’s Tan Kok Eng stood for the BN against then PKR leader Abd Khalid Ibrahim, the former Selangor menteri besar, who is now an independent MP.