‘EVEN MAHATHIR HAS LOST IN HIS STRONGHOLD BEFORE’ – MAT HASAN SAYS UMNO ‘SAFE’ EVEN IF HE LOSES RANTAU

UMNO is safe, even if it loses the Rantau by-election, its candidate and acting party president Mohamad Hasan said ahead of polling on Saturday.

Winning or losing the by-election is not the only gauge of the party’s efforts to revive itself after losing the 14th general election last year, said the deputy president, who assumed the duties of president after Ahmad Zahid Hamidi decided to concentrate on his corruption trials.

“There is no implication for the party even if the results are negative. Many leaders, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have lost in their own strongholds, yet today he is prime minister for the second time,”   Mohamad told The Malaysian Insight.

Mohamad, who took over the president’s duties when Zahid went on leave last December, is defending his seat against Pakatan Harapan candidate Dr. S Streram. There are also two independent candidates, R Malar and Mohd Nor Yassin.

The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar won the seat unopposed in GE14, after Streram failed to file his nomination papers when he was barred from entering the nomination centre.

Streram filed an election petition and the courts nullified Mohamad’s win, calling for a fresh election.

Analysts are predicting a Mohamad win, largely because of his track record as the seat’s incumbent and menteri besar for three terms from 2004 to 2018.

But Mohamad said he could not take this for granted, although he was optimistic about retaining the seat as the GE14 honeymoon wanes for PH.

He reiterated that even if he lost, his focus would remain on two things: to revive Umno and prepare it to face the 15th general election.

Mohamad Hasan campaigning in Felda Sendayan on Sunday. The Rantau by-election on Saturday was triggered by a court case nullifying its GE14 results. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, April 10, 2019.

The following are excerpts of Mohamad’s interview with The Malaysian Insight:

TMI: Leaders and the Barisan Nasional machinery consider the Rantau by-election an important one as the Umno deputy president is the candidate. What does the Rantau by-election mean for you?

Mohamad: Rantau is my seat. I was declared the winner without contest but then it was nullified. So if there’s a by-election, of course I need to defend it.

There will be no implications for the party if the result is negative. There have been leaders, including Dr Mahathir himself, who have lost in their strongholds.

Yet he is prime minister for the second time now. So, there won’t be any big impact on the party (Umno).

TMI: In the present situation where BN lost the state formerly led by you and also the federal government, what gives you motivation to continue in politics?

Mohamad: When we have fallen, we must have the spirit to rise again. Before this, we were in a relax mode and when we lost, the grassroots have to rise up so that we can correct what went wrong and strengthen the party.

My agenda is to strengthen the party and prepare strategies to face GE15.

TMI: What is the message behind the slogan ‘Bersama BN’ (with BN) in your campaign posters?  

Mohamad: We lost in GE14. The majority of the people did not support BN. Now we are asking them to stand with us again. We are on the path of reviving ourselves, which is better than doing nothing (about our situation).

After several months of being in power, Pakatan Harapan has shown that it cannot fulfil its promises. The people are realising that they have been lied to. The promises and lies were only to seize power, to topple BN.

Since the Cameron Highlands by-election and then in Semenyih, the people are more aware. They are sending a protest signal to the PH government.

Pakatan Harapan’s Dr S. Streram is the underdog in Rantau and was barred from contesting GE14 when he could not file his nomination papers. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, April 10, 2019.

TMI: With more than half the campaign period over, how do you gauge the people’s response and your chance in the by-election?

Mohamad: There may be news that show I have the support but I can’t take it for granted. We have to keep on working and our machinery is on the ground to ensure that we meet with as many voters as possible and to convince them to come out to vote on April 13 and to vote for BN.

TMI: What is your focus if you win this by-election?

Mohamad: I will continue serving my constituents and playing a check-and-balance role.

There is no use being the government in power but not doing anything to alleviate the people’s burden. They are struggling with the high cost of living while earning low wages as commodity prices continue to fall.

Now Tabung Haji has declared its lowest ever dividend and Felcra is not giving out any dividend.

These are concerns of people in Rantau, which is a rural area.

I hope the Negeri Sembilan government will make policies that care for the people’s welfare, which I did under a social safety net policy when BN ruled the state, but it appears as if this has been discontinued.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT