BARISAN Nasional component parties will meet to discuss how best the coalition can help the unity government candidate in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, amid talk of a boycott, according to Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
“I don’t think there is a boycott. We will have the meeting soon, before nomination day. We will discuss in the spirit of Barisan,” he was quoted as saying today by The Star Online in Kuala Lumpur.
The BN deputy chairman said this when asked to comment on MCA and MIC’s stand that they would not campaign in the by-election if the unity government candidate was not from Barisan.
Last week, BN chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would meet with MCA and MIC leaders to discuss their decision not to participate in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election campaign.
The Umno deputy president said unity government parties had an understanding that the candidate in any by-election would be from the party that won the seat in the last general election.
He pointed to several by-elections which had taken place after the last general election where the BN had contested some seats and PH the others.
“What we want to ensure is that the candidate for the unity government wins. That is our collective responsibility,” he was quoted as saying.
The KKB seat in Selangor fell vacant following the death of its three-term DAP assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong on March 21 after a battle with cancer.
Polling day is on May 11. Nomination day is on April 27 and early voting on May 7.
The KKB constituency has a mixed electorate of 50% Malays, 30% Chinese, 18% Indians and 2% others.
The electoral roll has more than 40,000 registered voters. – April 22, 2024.
