"We have received feedback from voters that they want an Umno candidate" said Merbok Umno chief Tajul Urus Md Zaid adding that MIC have lost their influence over there.
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Umno appears to be eyeing the Bukit Selambau state seat in Kedah which has traditionally been contested by MIC.
Merbok Umno chief Tajul Urus Md Zaid has suggested that an Umno candidate be fielded in the upcoming by-election since the party had contested the seat prior to MIC holding it for four terms up to the 12th general election last March."After four terms, MIC does not have influence there. We have received feedback from voters that they want an Umno candidate," Bernama quoted him as saying.
Tajul's suggestion is bound to ruffle feathers in MIC, which is looking to make a comeback after a disastrous performance in the last elections.V Arumugam won the state seat as an Independent last March but quit as state assemblyperson and state exco on Feb 9 and is in hiding, ostensibly for his safety in the face of alleged threats.In the 2008 general elections, Arumugam polled 13,225 votes against 10,863 votes polled by V Saranan of the MIC.
Tajul said that the Merbok Umno division held a special meeting last night and concluded on urging the Barisan Nasional leadership to choose an Umno candidate for the seat. He said that Umno deserves the seat because the number of Malay voters in the area now exceeded 50 percent.
In an immediate reaction, MIC information chief M Saravanan dismissed Tajul's suggestion that MIC is no longer influential in the area. "How did we win so many times (in the past) if we don't have influence?" he asked when contacted, adding that the decision of the candidate ultimately lies with the national BN leadership. Saravanan also urged Prime Minister and BN chief Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to "educate" grassroots leaders in order to smoothen ties between component parties. "We are fighting to win back seats and we can only do that through unity among BN component parties. Even if we are weak, it is the duty of our friends in Umno to help us as a brother in BN," he said.
Saravanan added that it was unreasonable for the Merbok Umno division to stake the party’s claim on a seat just because MIC failed to defend it in the last general election. "What happens in the future? If Umno loses a seat, will it give it up to another BN component party? Is Umno prepared for that?" he added.
