JOHOR BARU – It will not be an easy ride for Umno personalities who decided to contest against Barisan Nasional (BN) in tomorrow’s 15th general election (GE15), said party veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad.
Although he refused to speculate the chances of his former colleagues in Umno who opted to contest in the polls using either other parties’ tickets or independently, Shahrir said they are “likely to face difficulties” in their battle to keep their respective parliamentary seats.
“I wouldn’t know exactly, but generally they will face difficulties,” said the former seven-term MP for Johor Baru.
“But then of course these party warlords have money, which is one of the important things (when facing elections),” Shahrir said at the sidelines of BN’s programme with Indian communities and non-governmental organisations at the Johor Cultural and Sports Club last night.
Shahrir famously defended his Johor Baru seat in the 1988 by-election as an independent candidate, which was triggered by his own resignation earlier.
Looking back, he said that his achievement in defending his seat was during a different era, noting that he had been sacked from Umno at the height of the 1988 judicial crisis.
He also said that Umno will not be so desperate to accept these rebels back into its fold even if they were to win their respective seats.
“They have been sacked and we will make do with what we have,” he said.
Three incumbent Umno MPs – Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib (Maran) and Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar) – have decided to defend their seats in GE15 despite being dropped by BN.
Both Shahidan and Ismail are defending their respective seats under the Perikatan Nasional ticket, while Zahidi is contesting as an independent candidate.
Apart from his Padang Besar parliamentary seat, Zahidi will also contest the Titi Tinggi seat in Perlis. – The Vibes, November 18, 2022
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