BAGAN DATUK – Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied allegations of a secret pact with opposition Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to form a federal government post-election.
Zahid also denied talks that he and Anwar have been avoiding attacking each other personally since the campaign season started.
Zahid, who is also Umno president, said he has no reason to openly criticise Anwar as he practices a more mature approach to politics.
“Why should we criticise each other? We should be portraying (the good values of) our parties. We should be telling voters what we plan to do if we are chosen to form the new government.
“No candidates should take the approach of smearing their opponents. There is no need to single out any characters – even to those who oppress me,’’ he said during a press conference at his home here today.
This comes after Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad alleged that Zahid had entered into a pact with PH via Anwar to be spared from criminal prosecution.
Zahid today said Dr Mahathir is a “father of diversion” and should not be taken seriously.
“He is throwing these allegations as he is afraid his coalition will lose in the election. This is evident during the Johor state election when his party (Pejuang) contested in all seats and lost.”
However, since the campaign started, PH politicians have raised questions about Zahid’s alleged links to the recent littoral combat ship scandal, following a report that the former deputy prime minister engaged in corruption.
Zahid had denied such allegations and even threatened to sue blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin who had published such allegations on his website, Malaysia Today.
Meanwhile, Zahid hit back at his opponent Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin of PH, urging him to instead ask why the coalition’s finance minister Lim Guan Eng had cut development projects here.
Shamsul had criticised Zahid for not being able to drive development in his constituency despite holding several key cabinet portfolios, including the post of deputy prime minister.
“Previously, some RM4.8 billion in development projects was approved for Bagan Datuk. When PH took over, they cut it down to a mere RM900 million.
“So why don’t Shamsul ask Lim Guan Eng why he is vengeful against the people of Bagan Datuk?”
Zahid is the incumbent for Bagan Datuk and has held the seat for five consecutive terms.
This time, Bagan Datuk sees a four-cornered fight between Zahid, Shamsul, Perikatan Nasional’s Muhammad Faiz Na’aman and independent Mohamed Tawfik Ismail.
The Bagan Datuk seat has 58,183 registered voters. – The Vibes, November 7, 2022
