Zahid hits back at Dr M, says ex-PM used govt machinery for polls

 

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi pointed out that even the tents at the Kedah BN event were rented from local vendors.

KULIM: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has brushed off Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claim that Barisan Nasional (BN) will be using government machinery for its 15th general election (GE15) campaign.

In hitting back at the Pejuang chairman, Zahid said it was Mahathir who had used federal government machinery to help BN win elections in his first stint as prime minister.

“Look at our gathering, not even one government machinery was mobilised for this. Even the tents were rented (from local vendors),” he told reporters at a press conference after launching Kedah BN’s machinery here.

At a press conference earlier today, Mahathir said it would be a challenge for Gerakan Tanah Air to go against BN, claiming the latter would be using government resources to woo voters in GE15.

Meanwhile, Zahid said BN would be looking to win at least 10 parliamentary seats in Kedah.

Caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was also at the event, urged Kedah BN members to highlight the perks contained in the recently tabled Budget 2023, particularly for padi farmers, rubber smallholders, women, and the Indian community.

The Umno vice-president also reiterated that there was no friction between him and Zahid, going on to describe the party president as a generous leader who backed him as BN’s candidate for the prime minister’s post.

“I thank the president for naming me as (BN’s) prime minister candidate in (a Perak BN event) yesterday.”

In a speech earlier, Zahid claimed BN-led states have performed better in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) and domestic investments because they were politically stable.

He pointed out that Johor had attracted RM60.9 billion in investments from January to June this year. BN had fully taken over the administration of the state after the Johor elections in March.

Zahid also said it was a “blessing in disguise” that Kedah would not be holding its state elections simultaneously, as this would enable BN to focus on its GE15 campaign.

There are 15 parliamentary seats in Kedah. BN only won two in the 2018 general election, namely Padang Terap and Baling. - FMT