ALOR STAR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad regards Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar as the best candidate for the Umno presidency in the party’s coming election.
Dr Mahathir, who was formerly Umno president, said Khairy was among those most qualified to strengthen the party after Barisan Nasional (BN) lost the Federal government as well as several states in the 14th General Election (GE14).
“The contest for Umno’s top posts are now very open, and I find that the best candidate (for the presidency) is Khairy,” he told a press conference after chairing a Kedah Pakatan Harapan (PH) meeting on Sunday.
Also present were Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir; Kedah PKR chairman Dr Azman Ismail; Kedah Parti Amanah Negara chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh; and Kedah DAP chairman Teoh Boon Kok.
The Umno election this time will see all positions open for contest following prompting by the grassroots after the party lost heavily in GE14.
On another development, Dr Mahathir, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman, said the political turmoil in Perlis reflects Umno’s inability to determine the party’s basic struggle in the state.
Dr Mahathir said he has “no authority” to interfere in the situation in Perlis.
“How can I interfere. My own party has no power in Perlis.
“But Umno, since its defeat, appears to be in chaos to the extent it cannot even determine the principles of its struggles,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also admitted that although PH wrested control of Kedah from BN, PH’s perfomance has been less than stellar.
He said although PH managed to secure votes from among Pas and Umno supporters, it is not enough to place PPBM and Amanah on comfortable footing in the state.
“The fact is that we won more than expected but the new parties, Amanah and PPBM, had trouble securing support especially in three-cornered fights between BN, PKR and Pas.
“We plan to mobilise a movement to help the people understand PH’s struggle, apart from analysing voters in certain areas for us to understand how better to entice them,” he said.
In GE14, PH won 10 out of 15 Parliamentary seats in Kedah. Six seats went to PKR, while PPBM had three and Amanah one.