Semenyih by-election: Barisan to only field candidate accepted by voters

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional will make sure its candidate for the upcoming Semenyih by-election is someone accepted by the voters, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Those who are politically “expired”, carry baggage or who are only accepted by component parties but not the people will not be considered, the Umno deputy president said.

He said there was no point in putting up a candidate that the party wanted but was not accepted by the voters.

“I am not going to field a product, meaning candidate, who is already expired, that’s one thing for sure.

“And the product (candidate) must be acceptable and marketable,” said Mohamad when met at the MCA Chinese New Year Open House here on Tuesday (Feb 5).

Mohamad, who is carrying out the duties of the Umno president, said he will announce the candidate in due course.

Polling for the Semenyih state seat in Selangor will be on March 2.

The seat fell vacant after the death of Pakatan assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on Jan 11.

Mohamad said Barisan component parties, namely Umno, MCA and MIC, each have a responsibility to rejuvenate their respective parties after the coalition’s defeat in the last general election.

“We need a ‘boom’ to create new momentum in Barisan and Umno.

“Since we are no longer in Government, so we must ensure all our component parties are strong so that we can face anything,” said Mohamad.