KKB by-election: BN parties to 'exchange views' on helping unity govt candidate

PUTRAJAYA: Barisan Nasional component parties will meet to discuss how best the coalition can remain solid and help the unity government candidate in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

While he believed there was no issue of boycott, the Barisan deputy chairman said the coalition would call its members to “exchange ideas and views”.

“I don’t think there is a boycott. We will have the meeting soon, before Nomination Day. We will discuss in the spirit of Barisan,” he said on Monday (April 22).

Mohamad, who is Umno's deputy president, was asked to comment on MCA and MIC's stand that they would not campaign in the by-election if the unity government candidate was not from Barisan.

Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would meet with MCA and MIC leaders to discuss their decision not to participate in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election campaign.

Mohamad said political parties in the unity government have an understanding that the candidate in any by-election would be from the party that won the seat in the last general election, adding that all parties had agreed to this after they formed the unity government post-GE15.

Speaking at the Foreign Ministry’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house, Mohamad, who is the Foreign Minister, also said that there was a similar understanding among Barisan component parties.

“What we want to ensure is that the candidate for the unity government wins. That is our collective responsibility,” he said.

Mohamad also dismissed the talk that there was no camaraderie between the election machinery of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan.

He said several by-elections saw Pakatan and Barisan coming together “as unity government and to help the unity government candidate win.”

He cited the Simpang Jeram by-election, which he described as “tricky” due to its voter composition, as an example of good cooperation resulting in the outcome in favour of the unity government.

The Kuala Kubu Bahar seat became vacant on March 21, when its assemblyman, Lee Kee Hiong, 58, died.

Nomination Day is on Saturday, while polling is fixed for May 11.