KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional (BN) grassroots members, especially from Umno, have been asked not to point fingers over the defeat of the unity government in Kedah in the state election yesterday.
Kedah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said that all members are urged to remain calm and not blame any quarters.
“I want to tell all Umno and BN members to keep calm and not point fingers at any party,” he said.
“We have tried to win voters’ hearts not only during the state election campaign…from the beginning, we have always served the people.
“But when the people decide not to vote for BN, we will rest with what God provides,” he told the media.
According to him, BN accepted defeat, acknowledging the people’s decision.
BN did not win a single seat in the 36-seat legislative assembly. PH won three, while Perikatan Nasional (PN) retained power over the state by bagging the remainder of the seats.
Umno veteran Tan Sri Idris Jusoh, a former Terengganu menteri besar, has even called on BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to step down due to the dismal results.
Nature of elections
Mahdzir, a former Kedah menteri besar, himself lost in his bid to topple PAS’ Mohd Radzi Md Amin, who represented PN, in the Pedu state seat battle, with a majority of 6,373 votes.
Mahdzir obtained 8,024 votes, lagging far behind Radzi, who obtained 14,397 votes. Mahdzir served as Pedu assemblyman for two terms from 2004 to 2013.
“We respect the decision of the people of Kedah who do not wish to put their trust in the hands of the unity government to govern the state.
“I accept my defeat in the Pedu state constituency with an open heart, and I pray that the voters in Pedu will get all the good after making the choice to reject me and retain the incumbent representative,” he said.
Mahdzir also said that BN and Umno remain grateful to all the people of Kedah, and expressed their congratulations to PN, who succeeded in forming the state government.
“I also take this opportunity to say a million thanks to the entire BN machinery who have worked hard throughout this state election campaign.
“We accept this defeat, because this is the custom of the electoral race. There will be losers and winners,” he was quoted as saying by Getaran, the Malay-language sister-portal of The Vibes.
Apart from Mahdzir, two big names in PH-BN who also lost were Kedah PH chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar and state DAP chairman Tan Kok Yew.
Kedah’s caretaker menteri besar, Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, who is PAS elections director, maintained dominance in the Kedah state assembly by obtaining 16,050 votes in Jeneri. He defeated the BN candidate, Datuk Muhammad Khizri Abu Kasim.
Push for change or perish
In the six-state elections, BN only won two seats in Selangor, namely Sg Air Tawar and Dusun Tua, one seat in Kelantan (Galas), and two in Penang (Bertam and Sg Acheh).
All its candidates lost in Terengganu, including two former menteris besar, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said and Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.
However, Negri Sembilan BN recorded good results when it won 14 out of 17 contested seats, contributing a two-third majority victory together with Pakatan Harapan.
Among those who have publicly expressed disappointment at the results are Umno supreme councillor Isham Jalil and youth wing chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh.
Isham urged the party to do something to improve the situation if it does not want to become “extinct”.
Akmal said Umno must be determined to make changes if it does not want to be forgotten.
He said the party should prioritise bringing forth the voice of the people, and not the voice of its leaders.
In the last general election in November last year, Umno under Zahid’s leadership also fared poorly when it was only able to win 26 parliamentary seats. – The Vibes, August 13, 2023
