REMBAU – Umno aims to contest in not less than 96 parliamentary seats in the 15th general election (GE15) after taking into account negotiations with component parties in Barisan Nasional (BN), as well as PAS and Bersatu.
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said based on the initial formula of negotiations, Umno will also continue to hold on to the 55 seats won in the GE14.
“We want to retain, and contest, the seats we have. We also want to contest in seats where we were number two (second highest votes at GE14).
‘’We also find that there are seats our BN colleagues never won, because voters there want a Malay candidate, for example.
“Basically, BN components also agree (on the issue of seat distribution). In GE15, we want to win, we must win to form a government, not a seat to brag.
‘’We must scrutinise every seat, geopolitics, voter patterns and locality,” he told reporters after launching the Rembau division Umno delegates meeting, here, today.
Meanwhile, commenting on Umno election director Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman's statement that the party would only work with PAS without involving Bersatu in GE15, Mohamad who is also the Rembau Umno division head, said nothing has been decided yet.
“That is his (Tajuddin) right to speak, not the party’s decision yet. For a decision, the party can bring it to the Supreme Council meeting and the next Umno general assembly,” he said.
Asked about the decision of several Umno divisions to reject cooperating with Bersatu to face GE15, Mohamad said the party must first build its own strength while not rejecting cooperating with others.
Meanwhile, on the statement by BN secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who said that Umno could not move solo, Mohamad said the party had its own strengths.
“Don’t say we cannot win if we are alone, but in GE14, we made a little mistake. But it is better if there is cooperation, if there is no cooperation, what is important is that we empower ourselves and the party,” he explained.
Annuar at the Ketereh division Umno delegates meeting yesterday stressed that Umno could not be ‘alone’ in the political arena if it wants to achieve success in GE15, because moving solo was not a winning formula for the party. – Bernama, January 3, 2020
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