KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must not be allowed to be perceived as a representative of the Malays, said Gerak Independent’s Tawfik Ismail.
Tawfik, who is aiming to stand against Zahid in Bagan Datuk “or anywhere” the latter may stand, says the battle for Bagan Datuk is all about persuading the voters of the need to stop corruption.
The incumbent MP is not just their representative in Parliament, he is also the leader of the largest Malay party in this country and therefore presumably speaks to the world as the Malay voice,” Tawfik told The Vibes.
“He must not be allowed to have that role, for the dignity and self-respect of the Malays, given the legal charges against him,” said Tawfik, referring to the former deputy prime minister who is facing corruption charges.
He also threw a challenge to Barisan Nasional (BN) to drop Zahid or continue to be seen as a corrupt party.
“I want to see if BN will dump Zahid for its own survival because otherwise, they’re condoning corruption and deceit!”
Tawfik is in Bagan Datuk preparing for the task of taking on local boy Zahid, who has been the incumbent there since 1995.
His job has been made more challenging by PKR strongman Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin, who has offered to vacate his Hang Tuah Jaya safe seat in Melaka to take on Zahid.
Responding to Shamsul throwing his hat into the ring, Tawfik said: “I welcome all challengers so the voters of Bagan Datuk will have a buffet of political choices.”
Shamsul, meanwhile, opined that one needs to have the machinery to match to take on a goliath like Zahid, even as the PKR man expressed respect for Tawfik, the son of Umno co-founder Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.
However, Tawfik had this to say: “My machinery is small compared with PKR and BN, but can they convey the message I am bringing?
“Pakatan Harapan (PH), of which PKR is a major partner, should send its leader (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to fight the president of Umno, if its agenda is the same as mine,” he said.
Anwar will be going up against Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu – the former fulfilling a pledge that he will be contesting in seats held by “traitors” i.e. the dozen MPs who pulled support from PH in the now infamous Sheraton Move and caused the collapse of the government in just 22 months.
Tawfik said his machinery is focused and its target is clear.
“The big parties with their huge machinery have multiple targets and as a result are unfocused,” he said.
Tawfik added that the fight to topple corruption is not just in Bagan Datuk, but nationwide.
“Eliminate kleptocracy by not voting BN. So to put it simply, the rakyat is my machinery.” – The Vibes, October 23, 2022
