What’s at stake in Kedah for GE14
(MMO) – For a party long associated with the name Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Umno has wasted no time in distancing itself from the country’s longest running prime minister-turned-Opposition leader.
In Kedah, take a walk past the many roads and lorongs in the Malay heartland and it would be difficult to miss or even dismiss the weight of what his name carries.
Dr Mahathir’s footprint is almost everywhere here, reminders of his era as PM are permanently etched there in the form of museums and galleries. It should therefore come as no surprise that political parties from both sides of the divide are using his name to set the battle lines in Kedah for the 14th general election.
While Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties seem eager to leverage on the name and legacy of their former arch rival to garner Malay voter support in the state, Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) are doing the exact opposite.
Umno-BN: Closing the door on Dr M
For Merbok Umno division chief Datuk Tajul Urus Mat Zain, the party’s state chapter has the task of setting the record straight on BN’s victory in Kedah over PAS in the 2013 general election.
The Kedah state executive councillor believes that there is a popular misconception that the state was won due to the “Dr Mahathir” factor and because at the time the latter’s son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, was being proffered as BN’s candidate for state mentri besar ― which he eventually did become after GE13.
“The reason why BN won Kedah in the last general election is not because of Mukhriz, but because of Umno’s team under Bashah and (Datuk Seri) Mahadzir Khalid’s leadership.
“At the time, we never announced that Mukhriz would be MB. He was not a factor for our victory; he just came along for the ride,” Tajul Urus told Malay Mail Online.
