Umno and PAS now aim to retake Semenyih

KLANG: Umno and PAS are confident of retaking the Semenyih state seat from Pakatan Harapan in the by-election on March 2.

Both parties believe strong cooperation, the consolidation of election machinery and the current political sentiment will help Umno win the seat.

“The recent win in the Cameron Highlands by-election has also boosted our morale and given us hope,” said Selangor Umno deputy chief Datuk Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan in an interview.

He added that the unity within Umno is at a high after the Cameron Highlands by-election and will be even stronger in Semenyih.

“As the outcome in Cameron Highlands was a big motivating factor for us, I hope the spirit of togetherness we built with PAS will be repeated in Semenyih,” he added.

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

Bakhtiar, who was the Semenyih Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia division chief, had garnered 23,428 votes against the then incumbent Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz of Barisan, who got 14,464 votes. PAS candidate Mad Shahmiour Mat Kosim received 6,966 votes while PSM’s S. Arutchelvan got 1,293 votes.

In the Cameron Highlands by-election on Jan 26, Barisan fielded orang asli candidate Ramli Mohd Nor, who beat Pakatan’s M. Manogaran of the DAP with a 3,238-vote majority.

Mat Nadzari said Umno and PAS have a joint strategy to help them grab the Semenyih seat.

“Our strategy in Cameron High­lands to field an orang asli candidate had taken Pakatan by surprise, and we will have an equally good plan in Semenyih,” he said.

Meanwhile, Selangor PAS election director Roslan Shahir said his party’s main aim would be to work to “transfer” the 6,966 votes it received in Semenyih during GE14 to Umno.

“We are currently working on strategies to deliver our votes to Umno in Semenyih,” he added.

Roslan said both Selangor PAS and Umno have had several meetings on the Semenyih by-election.

“The PAS-Umno joint election machinery will be launched in Semenyih on Feb 10,” he added.

Roslan said although PAS was not involved in the candidate selection, Umno must come up with a candidate who is acceptable to all in Semenyih.

“I believe what they did in Cameron Highlands was a good move. They should come up with a similar plan in Semenyih,” he said.

“Umno also need a new breed of leaders ‘to appease’ the voters as well as selecting a candidate who is seen to be widely accepted by the constituents.

“Recycling candidates is an old trend. We must make the necessary changes to ensure the voters are comfortable with us this time around.”