KUALA LUMPUR – Former Sg Benut MP Mohamed Tawfik Ismail will not run in the coming 15th general election if Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is not contesting, as the person he wants to take down would then no longer be in the game.
Tawfik, who represents Gerak Independent, told The Vibes that he actually has no political ambition to pursue.
“My mission is to prevent Zahid from being an MP and qualifying to be prime minister,” he said.
He was responding to a Sinar Harian article which claimed that Zahid will be replaced by his daughter Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid or one of his right-hand men for the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat, where he is the incumbent.
Zahid, who is presently also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, has been MP for the constituency since 1995.
Tawfik stressed that he would not mount a challenge for the constituency or anywhere else if Zahid does not contest in the national polls.
“I have no quarrel with his daughter or anyone else,” he said.
“That is correct (I won’t be contesting if Zahid is not contesting). I have no political ambition,” said the former lawmaker.
Sinar Harian’s article had claimed that one of the reasons Zahid, a former deputy prime minister, is making this “sacrifice” is due to the controversies surrounding him.
As a result, the veteran politician does not want to taint other Umno and BN candidates’ chances at taking Putrajaya while cutting off another avenue of attack from his coalition’s political rivals.
The assertion in Sinar Harian, which cited sources, was however denied by Bagan Datuk Umno deputy chief Datuk Khairuddin Tarmizi, who was quoted by the same daily in a subsequent report.
“This has never been discussed in any meeting at the division level,” he was quoted as saying.
Khairuddin added that the division’s latest meeting was in fact focused on ensuring Zahid, 69, would retain the seat.
Last week, Tawfik had thrown down the gauntlet to Zahid, saying that he wants to provide voters an alternative Malay leader, compared to what PAS and Umno has to offer.
He described the Herculean task as “walking into the dragon’s lair” but was undeterred by the odds which were definitely stacked against him.
Zahid reacted to this by delivering a veiled warning to Tawfik, saying that voters in the constituency are astute enough to differentiate between leaders of quality and those who are not up to the job.
Tawfik, who once held the Sg Benut (now Simpang Renggam) parliamentary constituency from 1986 to 1990 as an Umno lawmaker, is also the son of the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, the former deputy prime minister. – The Vibes, October 21, 2022
