KUALA LUMPUR: United Malays National Organisation UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has hit out at the opposition for using the flood and inflation narrative to resist an early 15th general election GE 15 The former deputy prime minister described the flood narrative as a myth In a Facebook statement on Tuesday Sep 27, Ahmad Zahid said Pakatan Haparan s PH real concern has more to do with the lack of support among Malay voters for the opposition coalition.
The opposition is concerned that Malay voters, who make up the largest percentage of the country's population, are less interested in supporting the coalition when BN is beating the election drum, said Bagan Datuk MP.
PH is deadlocked and has no choice but to ask for more time. He said that PH is trying to buy time to delay the general election.
Ahmad Zahid is eager to have an early poll even though GE 15 is not due until September next year. The top leaders of UMNO will have a meeting on Friday to discuss the dissolution of parliament.
In his Tuesday Facebook post, Ahmad Zahid cited a report by MalaysiaNow, which said Malay support for PH had hit an all-time low and was expected to get less than 15 per cent of votes from this group in GE 15.
He also criticised the opposition for not offering any relief plan or solutions to combat inflation if the polls were to coincide with the year-end monsoon.
Ahmad Zahid said that the opposition is more interested in thinking about the strategy to win the general election, rather than the problems faced by the affected people.
He also chided some politicians within his own party for agreeing with the opposition that the polls should not be held during the monsoon season.
Last Thursday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is from UMNO, said that his ministry was not conducive to holding GE 15 during the flood season.
Before deciding to hold the election, he said that many factors have to be taken into account, including manpower and public safety.
Mr Khairy's comments came after Ahmad Zahid earlier said that UMNO was willing to wade through floodwater to ensure Barisan Nasional BN emerged victorious in GE 15.
In response to these criticisms, Ahmad Zahid said that GE 15 should be held immediately if there are concerns to avoid it coinciding with the year-end flood season.