Nothing wrong with Najib, Zahid campaigning in Semenyih, says KJ

Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said that the presence of former premier Najib Abdul Razak and his former deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Semenyih by-election campaign trail should not be turned into an issue.

This is because both have the rights to offer support for BN, he said.

"He (Zahid) is still the opposition leader and Umno president, so there's nothing wrong with him coming to the constituency. Furthermore, he had said that his presence here was low key.

"I think, leave it be, he is still the Umno president, although he is on leave," the Rembau MP told reporters after a ceramah session in Kampung Sungai Lalang in Semenyih last night.

Zahid took leave as Umno president on Dec 18 last year, following calls for him to step down amid an exodus of Umno MPs from the party. The party's deputy president Mohamad Hasan is currently carrying out Zahid's duties.

However, earlier this month, Mohamad had said that Zahid relinquished the post of opposition leader after going on leave.

Commenting on Najib's presence in Semenyih, Khairy said that the former party president too has the rights to assist BN in the by-election campaign, given that he is still an Umno member.

"Najib is free to conduct his own campaign, and if he gets support in doing so, we have to accept it because this is a democracy," said Khairy.

On another matter, Khairy said Umno and PAS were working well together in the campaigning at the grassroots level, adding that a ceramah featuring leaders of both parties is being planned. 

At the other end of the campaign, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Abdullah revealed that his party has been contacting 18,000 voters to seek their support for Harapan's candidate Muhammad Aiman Zainali.

"A total of 30 workers were assigned to call the constituents. (They will ask), 'Pak cikwhere do you stay? Are you a voter in Semenyih? Don't forget Aiman is our candidate and he is the the second candidate on the ballot paper'," he said.

"We have been calling (voters) daily since the first day (of the election campaign)," he added.  - Mkini