Zahid: Enough is enough

Meet and greet: Dr Ahmad Zahid waving to supporters during a gathering in Beaufort. With him is Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (left). — Bernama

BEAUFORT: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has warned instigators trying to create discord among party leaders in Beaufort Umno to stop.

He said the Klias state seat in this Sabah southwestern district could be recaptured by Barisan Nasional provided Beaufort Umno leaders were united.

It was crucial, he said, for Beaufort Umno to work as a team and its leaders to set aside any differences between them.

“We know there are many of you who are bent on causing trouble. Enough is enough,” he said during a gathering here yesterday.

Leaders, said Dr Ahmad Zahid, should always remember that they had positions in the party with the support of Umno members.

“Don’t fight. This is not your father’s party. We have positions because of the members and we were elected because of the people.

“They don’t want to see quarrels among their leaders,” he said, adding, however, that he was not asking them to “kiss or hug”.

Dr Ahmad Zahid then invited Beaufort MP Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun and Beaufort Umno chief Datuk Isnin Aliasnih on stage to shake hands, which was greeted with cheers from the several thousand people attending the event.

The Klias state seat, which is under the Beaufort parliamentary constituency, was won by former Beaufort Umno chief Datuk Lajim Ukin who quit the party before the 2013 general election and eventually joined PKR.

He later quit PKR and set up his own party, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is Umno vice-president, said both Barisan and Umno had many leaders who quit out of disappointment only to realise that they were no longer popular.

“We in Barisan have faced much pressure but we have persevered because we know there is no other party that can serve the people as well as us,” he said.

Barisan, said Dr Ahmad Zahid, was not a coalition that merely focused on its track record.

“We know what we have done is good but attention is on how to do better in the future,” he said, adding that he was committed to helping the Prime Minister better the lives of all Malaysians.

“The people don’t want more rhetoric. They want to see real progress and that is what we are delivering,” he said.

Dr Ahmad Zahid later handed over aid to mosque committees within the Beaufort parliamentary constituency as well as to a religious school and an orphanage.