BN leaders not picked for GE14 told to return to fold
BATU PAHAT, April 25 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders who were not picked to be candidates in the 14th general election (GE14) to return to the party's fold to ensure BN's victory.
The BN deputy chairman said it was still not too late for them to turn around and return to the party fold before nomination day on Saturday.
"It is still not too late, from now until 28th of this month for us to review.
"Maybe we are still angry, maybe we are tempted, maybe we are crowded out so we make a decision which did not favour our real situation," said the Deputy Prime Minister when speaking at a People with Leader Session and performing ground-breaking ceremony for the Rengit Community Hall in Kampung Parit Tengah, Rengit here today.
Also present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Rengit incumbent assemblyman Ayub Jamil.
Ahmad Zahid said BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was always open and magnanimous to accept leaders who returned to the party's fold.
According to him, in politics, a leader should have three attributes to become a great leader namely resilience, tenacity and competitiveness.
Nonetheless, he said greatness was not covered by the three elements alone as it should be accompanied by believe in God's will and acceptance of His will.
According to Ahmad Zahid, if he were to give in to anger and disappointment, he would have definitely left UMNO when punished under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the past, but he did not do so as he firmly believed in the party.
"I am reminding myself as I had gone through various tests. Accept the fact (of not being selected to contest).
"I did not complain about these matters to anybody but remembered that Allah is always testing his beloved believers and we do not know what wisdom Allah will dispense after the test," he said.
The Home Minister said each leader should prove the principle of ?wala' (compliance) when he was given priority by party leaders including being selected as a candidate.
"For me, if we 'wala' (comply) with what was decided by Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and finalised by the Prime Minister as Barisan Nasional chairman, then there reasons why a person was chosen," he said.
He said BN wanted candidates in the state (Johor) to win big to contribute to the formation of the state government and on that reason, BN had to find the candidates with highest potential to win in GE14.
"According to a neutral study, it is not who the leaders wanted to place but whom the people wanted. Insya Allah who could win.
"But there are leaders who feel they can win and should contest, it is a just self-serving finding," he said.
To the BN machinery especially in Batu Pahat, he reminded them to strengthen their efforts in polling districts and put aside their differences to recapture the parliamentary seat lost to PKR in GE13.
According to Ahmad Zahid, leaders and machinery teams have undergone several courses including one on 'Get Out The Voters' which would be meaningless if leaders and machinery did not have the fighting spirit.
He said his move to go to the ground in any parliamentary or state seat, was not to interfere with their affairs but to reach out to the people.
"Like in Johor, we do not only respect the Sultan of Johor (Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar) but the leadership of Johor in desiring to make Johor an advanced state.
-- BERNAMA
