Unfazed by the reportedly lukewarm response to the Save Selangor campaign, the state Umno will continue with its crusade to topple the Pakatan Rakyat government, vowing to ‘whip' it into submission.

Core to the crusade is the ongoing efforts to expose to the rakyat the weaknesses and failings of Pakatan leaders and their mix-and-match administration, Selangor Umno deputy chief Nor Omar said.

NONE

He told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview at his office on Tuesday that Selangor Umno was clear in its aim to take down the Pakatan state government and would mobilise everything in its power to do so in the next elections.

Noh ( left ) also dismissed rumours of trouble brewing in the state Umno between him, former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and the newly-joined Ezam Mohd Noor.

He said they were united in their mission to re-take the country's richest state, as mandated to them by Prime Minister Najib Razak himself.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

What is it like, being the state opposition?

Now that we are the state opposition, we find that it is easy being the opposition. It is actually very easy. We only use our tongue and saliva to talk.

And the trend is, the rakyat likes to hear the opposition speak. When we were the state government, we held talks, no one would attend. But now as an opposition, we hold talks and many would attend.

Will you take on a state seat?

I don't think about all that right now. Now, I only think about taking back Selangor, no more than that.

Who will lead the government if the BN succeeds?

If they say that Ezam should go forward, or someone else other than the three of us, or even an outside person were to come in - it is not a problem because we only want to take back Selangor. So it is no use dreaming about who is going to be MB.

If it is Khir, then it is him. As opposition leader, he too plays an important role.

The fact of the matter is we are committed to capturing Selangor. That is the mandate given to me by Najib. Khir, Ezam, both of them too have their roles to play.

Would you call the Save Selangor campaign a success?

I wouldn't call it a success. I don't want to say it was a success. I say that it is our responsibility to explain all the issues to the people.

How effective has the Save Selangor campaign been?

I do not know how effective it is or if it is not, but I understand that if it has not been effective, then why did the state executive council call the state police chief to explain why he approved the permits for the Save Selangor events.

If the campaign was not effective and did not threaten them, why would they care to ask him that?

At the same time, we see that they too are running a similar campaign. The difference is, in our campaign, hundreds came. They, too, did the same, but only managed to draw a small number.

They say we were not effective, it is all right if they say we were ineffective. I prefer them to say that we did not succeed, that Selangor Umno is weak, that Umno is asleep. I like it like that. Let them talk, but the rakyat can judge.

What about rumours that all is not well between you, Khir and Ezam?

They say that there is a rift between Khir and me. And then they say Ezam is eclipsing me because he is more popular. That is good, I like that. It is their job to say so. Let them try to pit me against Khir or against Ezam. They can do their best, it is not a problem for us.

NONE What is important is that on the ground I, ( Noh flanked by Khir and Ezam in photo ) Ezam and Khir have the same purpose.

If I really have only my interest at heart, why would I invite Khir to talk in the programme? I would not have invited Ezam to speak. I would have sidelined them like what happened in PAS - Khalid Samad on one side and Hassan Ali on the other.

But look at us. We are together. Whatever we do, we do together. After the Eid (Hari Raya) celebrations, we will go on the road again. We will also invite others who are popular in Selangor.

Is Umno the only BN component campaigning in Selangor?

That's okay, in the second round we will bring others in. This is Umno's trend. We are different. Since the olden days, we rarely campaigned together. MCA will campaign among the Chinese, MIC with the Indians and Umno with the Malays.

In the next round, we will do it. We will ask MIC and MCA who they can send to aid us.

What is your strategy for re-taking Selangor?

I cannot say it out loud. But it is simple in spirit. BN will do all it can to take Selangor back. I said the same to the Federal Village Committees for Development and Safety (JKKKP) in Selangor. Everyone must play their part in re-taking the state.

Ezam has been on the ground almost every night in the Save Selangor campaign. Khir also came. I will play my part when my schedule allows. We will continue to speak and expose Pakatan's problems to the rakyat.

I want them to be prepared. We are prominent leaders from Selangor, yes, we are the young turks who will assail Selangor.

Khir, with his experience in administering the state, will expose the state government's weakness.

As a federal minister, I too will expose them in terms of their dealings with the federal government, like the water issue, the assistance to farmers and how they are blocking us from helping the people.

Ezam and his reformists will expose the lies of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and by PKR, because he is the founder of PKR in Selangor. He knows more about the party than the average new member.

This is coordinated assault from every angle. Khir will whip them, I will whip them, and on the issue of Anwar's lies, Ezam will come to the fore.

This is what they fear. It used to be only Khir, but now I am here and Ezam has joined the team. We will hit them from every angle. We are not afraid, if they want to debate us, we are ready for it.

Do you have any plans to counter Pakatan's economic blueprint for Selangor?

How can they rule the state? They can't even address the sand issue. They can't even administer Yayasan Selangor and Unisel. Unisel lost millions. So how can they talk about the economy? It's hogwash. Now they want to talk about an economic plan. What economy?

NONE We will only talk about micro stuff, like sand. They do not know how to administer. All they seem to know is selling more state assets.

The sand is nearly gone, and now I heard that they may be looking to sell off assets of the Yayasan Selangor next...

It's okay, we will let them do their plan. We will wait and see. Because as the state opposition, it is easier for us to inform the rakyat (when it doesn't work). If they are so smart, let them implement it.

What happened to the shadow cabinet that was supposed to monitor the Pakatan state government?

We don't need to monitor. They are already quarrelling among themselves. They stay together only because of power. Like those who are forced into a marriage. A sham marriage, with no certificate. They are co-habitating illegally. They are living together outside the bounds of ‘legal' marriage, they can't even register as a party.

But I understand that they will find it difficult to appoint a president - is it Anwar? Is it Nik Aziz? Is it Hadi Awang? Or perhaps Zaid Ibrahim?

Will you seek out PAS' help to capture Selangor?

I don't really want to comment on this. It is actually quite simple. Who loves the Malay race, who wants to see the Muslims prosper will work together with other Malays and Muslims. This is not because of Umno, but because of God's teachings.

PAS will have to re-evaluate its stand on this because we can see that the DAP is clearly anti-Islam and will fight Islam if it is in power... it will do what it can to deny Islam.

Why should the rakyat vote the BN back in?

The rakyat must know that if they want to see Selangor develop, they must make sure the state government is in tune with the federal government. We cannot have the federal government implementing development projects and the state government not cooperating.