KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Baru Member of Parliament Tan Sri Shahrir Samad is set to contest in the 14th General Election (GE14) after all.
He said the call asking him to contest was made by Barisan Nasional (BN) top leadership and he would stand, despite announcing previously that he intended to give way to younger candidate.
“Not a big deal, but it ruins my plan to write a book after this.
“The call was the will of party and friends, so maybe after GE14 I need to make some adjustment to highlight the role of young people.
“I will try to adjust the role of young leaders in Johor Baru to increase their contributions,” he told reporters after the launching of ‘Malaysia Tanpa BN?’ written by Datuk Ahmad Faris Abdul Halim and Prof Dr Nasrudin Mohammed, at Parliament today.
Shahrir, 68, also touched on how the opposition had targetted certain seats with the aim of defeating select candidates.
The BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) chairman said the opposition tactic reflected their priority which was personal interest rather than serving the voters in their areas.
“There is no country that practices this kind of politics where ‘assassins’ are sent to certain seats with the aim of defeating targetted candidates.
“This is different from BN, which has leaders who have been loyal to defend their seats by getting mandate from the people and continuing development in their area,” he said.
Shahrir said the opposition was now hoping for a Malay tsunami to overthrow BN.
“The shift in strategy was made after they failed to influence Chinese voters during 13th General Election in their bid to capture Putrajaya,” he said.