KUALA LUMPUR: An Umno Youth candidate should be given the opportunity to contest in the coming Mahkota by election, says Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh (pic).
The request was made by the Umno Youth chief following the stunning success in the recent Nenggiri by-election, which was won by Kelantan Umno Youth chief Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani.
“Many outside observers, including those from Umno, did not have confidence that we could win in Nenggiri.
“Some in Umno even said that the Umno Youth chief was not being smart for fielding a candidate from the movement following the huge loss suffered in the Sungai Bakap by-election.
“Based on the success in Nenggiri, Umno Youth is ready to lead the contest in Mahkota.
“If given the responsibility, we will carry out our duties in Mahkota,” he said during policy speech at the Umno Youth annual meeting on Thursday. (Aug 22).
The request was directed to party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was also present when Dr Akmal was delivering his speech, amidst cheers from the floor.
The Umno Youth chief said that the movement had proven its worth during the Nenggiri by-election by regaining support from voters for Barisan Nasional.
“We have proven that the rakyat’s confidence in Umno had been restored, particularly among the young voters.
“This can be seen from the results where we won 18 out of the 20 younger voting streams in Nenggiri,” he added.
In a stunning reversal of fortune, Barisan Nasional clinched victory in the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan, snatching the seat that PAS had won in last year’s state election.
Mohd Azmawi secured the seat for Barisan with a more than 3,000 vote majority against PAS candidate, Mohd Rizwadi Ismail.
The Mahkota state seat in Johor was declared vacant following the death of assemblyman Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain on Aug 2.
The Election Commission has set Nomination Day on Sept 14 and Polling Day on Sept 28.
There were reports of cracks between Johor Amanah and Umno on which party will contest for the Mahkota by-election.
This was put to rest when Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that the coalition would not be contesting the seat.
On Wednesday (Aug 21), Ahmad Zahid said that he will be meeting with the Johor Barisan Nasional state liaison committee next week to discuss possible candidates for the Mahkota by-election.
On a separate matter, Dr Akmal said that Umno Youth would continue to speak out boldly against issues which are against Islam, the Malays and the Royals.
“We will speak out loudly, oppose and attack if these issues are touched upon and will not be afraid even in the face of death threats,” he said.
He cited several instances last year where Umno Youth had spoken out boldly, citing the controversial socks issue last year as an example.
