Stop sabotage to ensure Barisan’s victory, says PM

One family: Ismail Sabri posing for a wefie while mingling with party members during Barisan’s Bera constituency election machinery launch. — Bernama

BERA: The interests of Barisan Nasional should be prioritised to ensure whoever is chosen as a candidate wins the 15th General Election (GE15), says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The Umno vice-president said that the culture of sabotage, or cah keting, must end if Barisan were to win and a stable government could be formed.

He said many wanted to contest and many were qualified to be candidates, but when not chosen, they would sabotage those who were selected to contest in the polls.

“Don’t just think about ourselves. We will rejoice for two or three days because our friends lost, but those who will suffer will be the public,” he said while officiating the Bera Umno division delegates meeting at the Bera district council convention hall here yesterday.

He said those involved in campaigning for the party would also be disappointed to see their own leaders undermining each other.

“Imagine the feelings of members who joined the party at a young age, (who) did not sleep at night working for the party, to see their own leaders sabotaging each other,” he said, reported Bernama.

The Prime Minister also said that the results of GE14, which saw Barisan failing to form a government at the federal level, should serve as a lesson for the coalition to win big this time and to avoid political instability.

“This election is different. In the past, Umno and Barisan contested the elections with the expectation that they would win and be able to form the government in Putrajaya.

“However, after GE14, this 100% guarantee is no longer a given. We can no longer take it for granted and we have to work hard to ensure Barisan’s victory,” he said.

Ismail Sabri, who is also Bera Umno division chief, said that although he retained his seat during GE14, the victory was bitter-sweet, knowing many friends in the party had lost.

“Don’t forget and don’t take it for granted. The experience of GE14 should serve as a lesson.

“This time, we have to work harder because the Bera parliamentary constituency is different.

“All eyes are on us here because this is the prime minister’s parliamentary seat,” he said.

In this regard, he reminded the machinery of Umno, MCA and MIC to work as ‘one family’ to retain Barisan’s victory in the Bera parliamentary seat and the Guai and Kemayan state seats, in addition to recapturing the Triang state seat from Pakatan Harapan.

He also added that work should start as early as possible.