Hishammuddin has mixed feelings on BN’s chances

Written by Daniel Khoo, The Edge 

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein expressed mixed feelings on Wednesday, April 21, on whether Barisan Nasional (BN) will be able to win the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election on Sunday.

He said that it is “not going to be easy” to win Hulu Selangor because the seat was not Barisan Nasional’s (BN) in the first place.

Hishammuddin was speaking after officiating at the signing ceremony for Sime Darby Property’s “commitment towards a safer living environment” pledge with 30 other parties (government-linked corporations, local councils, statutory bodies and private companies).

“It will never be easy to win. This is a seat that we have to win back from Pakatan Rakyat. So, we are starting with a disadvantage especially when the state itself is Pakatan Rakyat’s,” he said. “But I feel that we have a very good chance, as we have a very good candidate.”

“I am happy to say the candidate is well received. Our machinery is moving, and certain areas of weaknesses need to be overcome,” said Hishammuddin.

The by-election this weekend is a straight fight between BN candidate P Kamalanathan and PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

The seat fell vacant when Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad, who had defeated BN’s Datuk G Palanivel by a slim 198-vote majority in the 2008 general election, passed away due to brain cancer.