ISMAIL Sabri Yaakob remains Barisan Nasional’s (BN) poster boy for the general election (GE) and prime ministerial candidate, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

He also said the coalition’s stand on the matter would not change if BN succeeds in getting to administer Putrajaya. 

Zahid, who is also Umno chief, said following BN’s stand, the question of whether Ismail would be BN’s candidate for the post of prime minister did not arise, but this was being played up by the opposition.

“At the party level, the decision that Ismail Sabri is our ‘poster boy’ and candidate for the post of prime minister is final as decided by the Umno Supreme Council. 

“The actions of certain parties are only aimed at causing friction, especially within Umno and among the BN components, as they have no other means,” he said when met by reporters after opening the Bagan Datuk Umno Division meeting today. 

Previously, there had been statements from certain quarters claiming that the incumbent for the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat (Zahid) would be named prime ministerial candidate if BN wins in the GE.

Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan reportedly denied a statement claiming that Zahid had been named prime ministerial candidate as had gone viral on social media.

Zahid said he views PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s statement claiming that the issues shackling Umno-BN relations, including corruption, is just his personal opinion. 

“As an individual with deep religious knowledge, he should not be using religion for political purposes, but using politics to instead strengthen the religion,” he said. 

Zahid also said he always upholds the parliamentary democratic practice of welcoming anyone wishing to contest the Bagan Datuk seat in the upcoming GE. 

“This country practises democracy and all politicians uphold this, so I invite anyone to contest the seat here.

“If Mohamed Tawfik (Ismail) wants the Bagan Datuk seat, I welcome him as ultimately, the people will decide and definitely, they are smart enough to differentiate between a ‘diamond’ and ‘glass’,” he added. 

The media had earlier reported that Tawfik, son of the late deputy prime minister Ismail Abdul Rahman, is prepared to contest against Zahid anywhere, including in Bagan Datuk. 

Tawfik, the founder of Gerak Independent, was once MP for Sungai Benut in Johor from 1986 to 1990. – Bernama, October 16, 2022.