Zahid hints at seat swap involving Hutan Melintang

BAGAN DATUK: Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today hinted that the Hutan Melintang state seat may be involved in a swap of seats between Umno and MIC in the general election on May 9.
He said the local Umno branch had requested to contest Hutan Melintang which was allocated to the MIC in the last general election. The seat was won by PKR.
Ahmad Zahid, who was the MP for Bagan Datuk in the last parliament, said he had conveyed the Umno request to caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and Perak caretaker Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
He advised the people in the constituency not to make any speculation on the candidate for the seat before an announcement was made.
Speaking during a visit to the Kampung Sungai Keli polling district here, Ahmad Zahid said Zambry would make an announcement soon on the allocation of the parliamentary and state seats in Perak.
Ahmad Zahid, who is an Umno vice-president also discharging the duties of the deputy president, urged the voters in Hutan Melintang to elect the BN candidate in the 14th general election on May 9 to enable a resumption of development.
"Let bygones be bygones. We want to recapture the Hutan Melintang seat because I have development plans that have to be implemented for the well-being of the constituents," he said.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid visited the site of jetty project in Kampung Kota here to have a closer look at the construction taking place.
The jetty, being built at a cost of RM731,500 through the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister's Department, is due for completion soon. — Bernama