ACTS of sabotage or “cah keting” must be stopped to ensure the victory of Barisan Nasional (BN) in the general election (GE) to form a stable government, said caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. 

The Umno vice-president said members should prioritise the interests of the party because those chosen as candidates in the election carry the party’s flag. They are not contesting in an individual capacity; their victory is for BN. 

“In the elections, many want to contest and many are qualified to be candidates… It’s okay if you want to be a candidate. However, just because we want to contest, we are sabotaging our friends who are contesting, doing things to make sure our friends do not win.

“Don’t just think about ourselves. We will rejoice for two or three days because our friends lose, but those who will suffer are the public. Imagine the feelings of members who joined the party from a young age, did not sleep at night working for the party, to see their own leaders sabotaging each other,” he said.

Ismail said this when officiating the Umno Bera division delegates’ meeting at the Bera District Council Convention Hall today. 

He also said the results of the last GE, which saw BN fail to form the federal government, should serve as a lesson to strengthen the agreement so the coalition wins big this time, to avoid political instability resulting in change of national leadership several times since 2018.

“This GE is different. In the past, Umno and BN entered the elections with the expectation that they were going to win and be able to form a government in Putrajaya. However, after GE14, this 100% guarantee can no longer be given, we can no longer take it for granted, and we have to work hard to ensure BN’s victory,” he said. 

Ismail, who is also Umno’s Bera division chief, recalled that after the last GE results were announced, in which he retained the Bera parliamentary seat with a majority of 2,311 votes, the victory was not the same, knowing that many friends in the party had lost.

“Don’t forget and don’t take it for granted. The experience of GE14 should serve as a lesson. This time, we have to work harder because the Bera parliamentary constituency is different. All eyes are on us here because this is the prime minister’s parliamentary seat,” he said.

In this regard, Ismail reminded the machinery of Umno, MCA and MIC to work as “one family” to retain BN’s victory in the Bera parliamentary seat and the Guai and Kemayan state seats, in addition to recapturing the Triang state seat from Pakatan Harapan.

He also added that work should start as early as possible following his announcement on the dissolution of parliament on Monday after obtaining the consent of the Agong. – Bernama, October 16, 2022.