There were elements of sabotage within party in last two GEs: Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today acknowledged there were elements of sabotage within the party, which had led some members not to cast their votes in the previous general election.
Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister, added that some members were frustrated as their preferred candidates were not fielded in the 13th General Election.
Due to this, Zahid said members who were unhappy with the decision decided to sabotage their own party candidates by relinquishing their support.
"This is very dangerous, but these things happened. There were many parliament and state seats with good candidates but because of some frustrated supporters, there was sabotage," he said.
"It is the reality, a truth that had occurred. I know (of these occurrences)," he said in his speech during the Umno Information and Media convention held at the Putra World Trade Centre.
Ruling coalition Barisan Nasional suffered a major setback in the two previous general elections, losing its two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat and several states to the Opposition.
Zahid called on Umno members to do away with the practice of sabotage in facing the 14th General Election and march as a united front.
Meanwhile, Zahid also reminded members to be wary of the Opposition's last minute "trump card" that could turn the table against BN in the coming national polls.
He added the party machinery was unprepared when the Opposition revealed their trump card in the previous two general elections.
He said the trump cards were the lies made up by the Opposition to swing the last minute votes, such as claiming the government was bringing thousands of Bangladeshi to vote in the previous election.
"We were caught off-guard as we did not have any pre-emptive measures. We did not have the method to overcome this issue at the last minute. No one knew how to answer it," he said.
"We need to be prepared what is their last trump card. We will not know the issue but we can inform the public not to be caught by it," he added.
At an earlier event, Zahid said BN will review the implementation of the "direct candidate" formula in the upcoming general election (GE14).
He said the formula has proven to be effective in the last Sarawak state election.
"We need to articulate and discuss in detail because actually the formula has been implemented in Sarawak and (GE14) is not subjected to Sarawak (alone).
"But if there's a need for a few seats then this formula can be formulated in Semenanjung," he said.
People's Progressive Party (MyPPP) president Tan Sri M Kayveas had earlier said the party will support the use of the direct candidate system to resolve any dispute regarding seat allocation among BN component parties in GE14.
In the 2016 Sarawak state election, BN direct candidates emerged victorious despite not representing any of the state BN component parties.
The BN coalition has tightened its grip on the biggest state in Malaysia after capturing 72 out of the 82 seats in the state legislative assembly.