BARISAN Nasional (BN) will need to consider many factors to triumph in the upcoming polls, dubbed “the mother of all elections”, its chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. 

Zahid said among the issues that would need to be taken into consideration in ensuring BN’s win includes selection of candidates based on ethnicity and gender. 

The Umno president said the coalition has tried to field as many as women candidates as possible but is unable to meet all the demands claiming there are tactical aspects that have to be considered. 

“We tried our best to field as many women candidates as possible. I think it’s not only BN but other parties are also doing the same,” Zahid said in a Facebook post this morning. 

“In order to ensure victory, the party’s struggle is above the gender agenda. Tactical aspects for each constituency to be contested by transcends the gender factor. 

“The same applies to ethnicity, where we don’t pick candidates to win a parliamentary constituency based on their skin colour, ethnicity and gender,” he added. 

Zahid’s gave this explanation after BN was criticised for going back on their promise to field at least 30% female candidates.

When BN’s candidates were announced on Tuesday, it was revealed that only some 11% of the candidates announced are women.

Zahid admitted that the coalition also struggled in convincing men to give way to female candidates in the general election.

“We tried to do everything we can, but when did so, there were objections from certain parties, for example, incumbent male candidates, who didn’t want to give way because they (men) still want to compete to maintain power like in Padang Besar in Perlis,” Zahid said. 

Zahid was referring to Padang Besar incumbent MP Zahidi Zainul Abidin, who has been dropped from candidates list and replaced with Puteri Umno chief Zahida Zarik Khan.

Zahid also added that it does not mean they completely sidelined women’s request. 

He said BN placed a woman candidate in Tanjung Karang in recognising the role of women.

Zahid reiterated that the coalition was not biased when selecting candidates, but was focused on winnability. 

Zahid likened the candidates chances of winning to a cat’s ability to catch a rat. 

“In other words it doesn’t matter whether the colour of the cat is black or white or whatever colour, or any gender at all as long as long the cat is capable of catching the rat. 

“So there is no issue of gender bias or skin colour,” he said. – November 4, 2022.