Stick with Umno come what may, Nazri advises axed incumbent MPs

Incumbent Umno MPs who are disgruntled with their exclusion from the 15th general election (GE15) should not go against the party, come what may.

Umno veteran Nazri Aziz said this is despite party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi having clearly gone against the Umno constitution in choosing some of the candidates.

“According to the party’s constitution, the president has no veto power to choose the candidates.

“This time, many of the nominations (of candidates) did not go through the division chiefs, as it should,” Nazri, who is incumbent Padang Rengas MP, told Malaysiakini.

Despite this, the axed leaders should not hold a grudge against the party, let alone try to sabotage it, he said.

Nazri stressed that the reaction of some of the axed incumbent MPs was “understandable”, given the years of service they have dedicated to the party.

Among those are incumbent Arau MP Shahidan Kassim, who vowed to defend his seat at all costs, and incumbent Ketereh MP Annuar Musa, who teased contesting under a “Muafakat Nasional” platform after being excluded from the GE15 line-up.

Shahidan had even asked Zahid to step down for “unilaterally” choosing candidates for the election.

Portray a united front

According to Nazri, it is crucial for the Umno leadership and its members to portray a united front riding into the elections.

“Come nomination day, we will know (how the axed incumbents will behave).

“Generally speaking, I know most of the leaders will not go against the party. At the end of the day, they (the dropped leaders) should realise that the party is bigger than any individual,” he said.

Nazri announced last year that he would not be contesting in GE15.

Even if he did not announce his retirement, he still wouldn’t resort to going against the party if he was excluded from the candidates’ line-up, Nazri stressed.

“I personally chose the leader who will defend my Padang Rengas parliamentary seat, as well as the candidates for the two state seats under the constituency.

“I will personally campaign for them in the election. It is my duty to ensure we win all three seats,” he said.

On Tuesday, Padang Rengas Umno Youth chief Mohd Ariff Abdul Majid was picked to defend the parliamentary seat.

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