Umno division wants Kedah seat that MIC lost four times

Merbok Umno wants MIC to make way in the Kedah state seat of Bukit Selambau come the 15th general election (GE15).

In a recent letter to party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that was sighted by Malaysiakini, Merbok Umno chief Annuar Ahmad contended that his party stood a better chance of winning the seat.

“In the spirit of BN, my hope is that Dato Seri (Zahid) will discuss and negotiate this matter with MIC president (S Vigneswaran) to arrive at a resolution,” he wrote.

Annuar reasoned that MIC had lost the seat four consecutive times - in GE12, the 2009 snap election, GE13, and GE14.

Bukit Selambau has been represented by PKR since 2009.

Annuar also argued that Umno, as a Malay-Muslim party, should contest the seat because 61.1 percent of the Bukit Selambau electorate are Malay-Malaysian.

“Sixteen voting districts have more Malay voters than Indian voters (76.2 percent) and only five voting districts have more Indian voters than Malay voters (23.8 percent),” he added.

Furthermore, Annuar said Merbok Umno’s youth, women, and young women wings had all agreed that Bukit Selambau ought to be “returned” to the party.

“We regret BN’s huge GE14 loss in Kedah, therefore BN must present a new deal to the Kedah people in general, as well as in this seat.

“The new deal is to return Bukit Selambau to Umno in GE15,” he stressed in his letter.

GE15 is not required until May 2023. - Mkini