Umno chief refutes claim by Dr M on Umno-Bersatu seat contests

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has refuted the claim by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Umno would contest in all seats held by Bersatu and those won by Umno but whose MPs defected to Bersatu.

Responding to the claim Mahathir made in his blog, chedet, Zahid said Mahathir had perhaps obtained his information from unreliable sources.

"I think it's best to look at the fact that his statement is not based on research or information which was obtained from reliable sources.

"Maybe what he mentioned was from unreliable sources, just as when he led the government," Zahid told the media in Slim yesterday.

He turned up to campaign for BN candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz. Voting for the Slim by-election will be held tomorrow, Saturday, Aug 29.

Mahathir, in his posting yesterday, had claimed that the Umno Supreme Council had made a decision for the party to contest in all seats held by Bersatu.

The Langkawi MP alleged that an unnamed Bersatu minister and deputy minister have said the situation did not matter to them as long as they received big salaries and allowances.

This showed that the struggle now is to seek as much money as possible, as the defections are allegedly driven by money, Mahathir said.

For the record, Umno Supreme Council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin has said that BN will contest in seats that it had lost due to defections since the last general election.

“This is the supreme council’s – not the president’s decision – to retake (the seats). Thus, we will not give even one seat to Bersatu. That much is certain.

“If Bersatu still wants (to contest in the next general election), then they can contest in other seats.

“It is up to them to contest in Bersatu Blackout’s seats or wherever else they can go contest in that place,” Zahidi had said. - Mkini