We don’t want to be seen blocking Anwar’s path to Putrajaya, says Umno

PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim is set to contest the Port Dickson by-election without his closest rival from Barisan Nasional. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa today defended Barisan Nasional’s (BN) decision not to challenge Anwar Ibrahim in the Port Dickson by-election, saying it did not want to be accused of derailing the PKR leader’s path to premiership.

“If we contest the seat, we may be seen as trying to prevent Anwar Ibrahim from becoming the next prime minister,” said Annuar, amid criticism by former Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein, who urged BN to contest.

Annuar used the analogy of a widower who marries his late wife’s sister to describe the by-election, which will be held on Oct 13.

“I call it a ‘salin tikar’ by-election,” he said, using a Malay expression for such a practice.

“It is when a person’s wife passes way, he takes his sister-in-law as wife to ensure that the family’s welfare is taken care of.

“If we participate in this by-election, it would mean that we are condoning such politics,” he said.

Hishammuddin reportedly said Umno must tell its members in Port Dickson on whether or not they should vote in the upcoming by-election.

“If they vote for the opposition, they will be accused of having voted for a political adversary and can be subjected to disciplinary action,” he said.

The Port Dickson seat was won by former Navy officer Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, who got 36,225 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional’s VS Mogan (18,515 votes) and PAS’ Mahfuz Roslan (6,594 votes).

On Sept 12, Danyal announced that he was quitting as MP to allow Anwar to contest, a decision criticised by both supporters and opponents of the PH government.

Anwar was promised the post of prime minister, under a deal reached among Pakatan Harapan leaders before the May 9 elections.

Annuar said Umno did not want to be seen as an obstacle to Anwar’s journey to Putrajaya.

“We may even be seen as disrupting the PH’s internal affairs. We don’t want to be a boogeyman in this by-election, or to be caught in a crossfire, or suck into this ‘salin tikar’ politics,” he said. -FMT