Nik Aziz defends Zaid, calls Umno’s attacks childish
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA KUBU BARU, April 23 — Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat made a last ditch attempt to salvage Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) Hulu Selangor campaign tonight, slamming the attacks on Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s drinking past as “childish”.
The Pakatan Rakyat candidate is facing a blistering campaign from rivals Umno over his “un-Islamic” drinking past but Nik Aziz (picture), who Islamic credentials are well-respected, chose to back the former law minister ahead of Sunday’s polls.
“Itu kerja bodoh (it is a stupid thing to do),” said the charismatic Kelantan Mentri Besar to a packed press conference here.
“He is a candidate of a party so you attack the party and not the candidate. It is childish,” blasted Nik Aziz
The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government is said to be leading the race for the parliamentary seat due to several factors including the effective smear campaign used by Umno.
In recent days, Umno and BN have stepped up their campaign with even Datuk Seri Najib Razak hitting the hustings.
On the stump, the prime minister and Umno president has made uncharacteristically aggressive attacks against PR, by calling Zaid a “Cabinet reject” and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a two-faced politician.
