GE14: Mahdzir Khalid advises UMNO members to remain loyal to leaders





JERLUN, April 19 (Bernama) -- UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid today advised party members to remain loyal to and respect the decisions of the party leaders pertaining to the 14th general election on May 9.

He said they should not sabotage the party and its candidates if they were disappointed for not having been fielded as candidates in the general election, the nomination for which is on April 28.

"We must respect the decisions of the party leaders; that's an important prerequisite in politics," he said to reporters at Sekolah Kebangsaan Ayer Hitam here after a walkabout in the Jerlun and Kota Setar parliamentary constituencies.

He advised the party members to learn from past general elections, saying the Barisan Nasional was defeated due to sabotage.

Mahdzir said the BN lost Kedah to PAS in the 12th general election in 2008 as a result of sabotage by a group of members. Mahdzir was the menteri besar then, having administered from 2005 to 2008.

He said he was confident that the party members would have become wiser following that defeat and would give their undivided support to the candidates once their names were announced.

Mahdzir, who is the education minister, approved an allocation of RM800,000 for the construction of a new building for Sekolah Kebangsaan Ayer Hitam. Cracks have reportedly appeared on the existing building.

He also said that RM15 million had been allocated to five district education offices for maintenance and repair of schools and educational institutions in Kedah.

-- BERNAMA