Terengganu is a swing state, says Zahid

CHUKAI: Describing Terengganu as a swing state, Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) says voters want the coalition to recapture the state.

“Remember that the state government can change at any time. And if you go by the 2018 general election, the pendulum swung down but this time it has started swinging up.

“God willing, Barisan will win back this state,” he said.

“I want to remind my friends that the election is the best chance for us to form the state government in Terengganu.

“Because there will be many problems if we are the Federal Government but they form the state government,” said Ahmad Zahid, who also called Kedah a swing state.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president added that all component parties in the unity government must put aside their differences and jealousy and work together once the Election Commission announced the nomination date and the war drums sounded.

“This is our time to take over Terengganu because the people have suffered and lived in hardship,” he said in his speech at the Qurban Perdana and Jamuan Rakyat programme at Pantai Penunjuk Kijal here yesterday, Bernama reported.

Ahmad Zahid also said young voters were important as they accounted for almost 50% of the total electorate, adding that the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim always paid attention to their concerns and listened to their voices.

“This time, we have to make sacrifices so that Umno, Barisan and Pakatan Harapan can make up for our defeat and win the state election. I am confident that the ‘blue wave’ has begun to roll again,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid called on voters not to fall for the Opposition’s political ploys.

“We’ve been focusing on development whereas the other side chooses politics of deception,” he said.

“In the end, the deception they had planned worked, and people forgot about the progress we had made. This is the truth.

“But to achieve victory, and let’s say PAS has a ruse, we must explain it to the voters, not just about their deception and lies, but also about how they are misinterpreting Quranic verses and hadith,” he said.

A total of 245 seats are up for grabs in the coming six state elections involving Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan.