KLUANG: Nothing is impossible in politics, says Datuk Seri Azmin Ali in response to Muafakat Nasional chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa’s prediction that Barisan Nasional will win the Mahkota by-election.
The Bersatu supreme council member said that although he conceded that Mahkota is not an easy seat for Perikatan Nasional, the chances of them winning are still there.
“Looking at the data and statistics, this is definitely a challenging seat for Perikatan.
“If you look at the composition of voters, there are only about 55% of Malays, and the remaining 45% are non-Malays, which usually makes it relatively difficult for Perikatan to win.
“However, in politics, nothing is impossible, especially in the current situation and the sentiment on the ground against Putrajaya. People are tired of their performance,” he said.
The former Selangor Mentri Besar said this when asked to respond to Annuar’s statement that Barisan is likely to win the election based on the results of the previous state election.
“We would need to have strong machinery and use the right strategy.
“We cannot give up. This is a struggle for the rakyat, so we need to put our best efforts and teams forward to capture the Mahkota seat,” Azmin said in a press conference after a ceramah on Wednesday (Sept 18) night.
On a separate matter, Azmin also stressed that all Perikatan component parties, including PAS, have been helping Bersatu in the by-election since day one.
“PAS had their muktamar in Pahang last Saturday (Sept 14). The date has been set long before the election was called, and we respect that.
"In spite of that, PAS took a positive decision to send (Kelantan State Assembly Speaker) Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Abdullah as a representative.
“Even (PAS secretary-general) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan told me that all Johor Pas leaders were instructed not to attend the assembly so that they could help out in Mahkota,” he said.
He said the same goes for Gerakan, which has deployed its machinery to assist in the election.
“Yes, they are also here. I have met with Johor Gerakan chief Datuk Teo Kok Chee, and they have assigned their local team to look after Pandan Tengah in Mahkota.
“I have also spoken to their party president Datuk Dominic Lau, who is now overseas but will also be coming here,” he said.
On another matter, he said that Perikatan is expected to announce its manifesto for the Mahkota election in two days.
“We want to focus on major issues that our representative can bring forward in the Johor state legislative assembly if Mohamad Haizan Jaafar is elected as the assemblyman," he said.
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