TAMBUN: Former Ketereh MP Annuar Musa says the split in Malay votes is his “biggest fear” in the general election (GE15).
“If the trend continues, it will certainly pose a danger as far as Barisan Nasional (BN) is concerned,” he said during a press conference here.
“Our failure to bring together Malaysians of different races, especially the Malays, will definitely weaken us.”
When asked if the lack of funding for BN candidates campaigning in Tambun meant that BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was “making way” for Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief Anwar Ibrahim’s victory in the constituency, Annuar said that was merely a perception.
“This problem is not only in Tambun. On the question of funding, Umno is not a rich political party like before. So, I can understand if some of the candidates feel they do not have enough funding,” he said.
“But (claiming) that Zahid wants (BN) to lose Tambun to give Anwar an easy path… That is an unfair accusation.”
The former BN secretary-general added that the lack of BN heavyweights on the campaign trail in Tambun was due to the fact that every candidate was facing “a tough fight” in their respective constituency.
Commenting on Khairy Jamaluddin’s recent remark that Umno needed a “breath of fresh air”, Annuar said the statement by the BN candidate for the Sungai Buloh seat applied to all political parties.
“I think it’s high time for Anwar to pass (the president’s post) to (PKR deputy president) Rafizi Ramli (as) he is raring to take over. (And) it’s more urgent for Bersatu to be given a breath of fresh air, not Umno.”
He said Umno had always given opportunities to the youth, citing how he won the Peringat state assembly seat in Kelantan at the age of 30.
“(While) we do have a certain percentage of seniors, but we have more than 80% new faces. Compared to all the political parties, Umno is fielding the most ‘new faces’ in GE15. That is rejuvenation.
Commenting on the sentiment on the ground, Annuar said that based on his assessment, the mood ahead of Saturday’s polls was “rather sombre” in comparison to previous elections.
“But this might be due to the prevalence of social media these days. Posters can be sent through mobile phones, (so) maybe the relevance of making posters and flags has decreased,” he said.
He added that the competition seemed to be focused on BN, PH, and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
“I see that (support for) PH seems to be concentrated in urban and parts of suburban areas. BN remains strong in rural areas and parts of the suburbs while PN seems to be putting in a lot of effort to gain ground.”
“That is my observation, but for BN, we shouldn’t get complacent,” he said. - FMT
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