THE 14th general election is the best time for Barisan Nasional to take back Selangor as the coalition seeks to break its two-term losing streak, Umno acting deputy president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said.

“In the past, we were busy fighting ourselves and this weakened us,” Zahid told Kuala Langat division party members at its annual general meeting.

“In our previously weakened state, our enemies – which were smaller than us – could take us down. In the 14th general election this will no longer happen. The time is now to take back Selangor.

“This opportunity is a godsend to us. It is the answer to our prayers after we have been demonised for the past nine years,” he said, adding BN could do it at the polls because Selangor Umno has stopped the infighting that had crippled its election machinery for GE12 and GE13.

The deputy prime minister said reports from Selangor Umno showed that the annual general meetings at most of it branches – which form the core of the party’s grassroots – had been held without any major problems.

BN had ruled the country’s richest state since Merdeka but lost it to Pakatan Rakyat in the 12th general election in 2008. In GE13, BN was left with only 11 out of 56 seats in Selangor, all of which are held by Umno.

Besides urging Kuala Langat Umno members to close ranks, Ahmad Zahid also castigated them for not doing enough to counter Pakatan Harapan’s attacks against BN.

This includes failing to explain to the people the reasons for the rising living costs, and in Selangor, failing to bring to public attention BN’s contributions to the state’s development.

“Sometimes our problem is that even we believe the propaganda that is being hurled at us. For instance, we agree with them that BN stands for Barang Naik (prices rise), when what we should tell people is that there is no country in the world that does not suffer from inflation.”

Zahid also countered the Selangor government’s claims that it has increased foreign direct investment in the state.

He said 73% of the FDI Selangor has received so far came during the BN administration that ended 2008.

The current Selangor government also did not effectively use Putrajaya’s allocation for road repairs in the state, Zahid claimed.

“They boast about giving two months’ bonus to their civil servants but the reality is that they only have 27,000 (of them) while we have to look after more than 1.6 million civil servants.

“And sometimes, not only do we fight among ourselves but we believe the lies the opposition tells about us.

Umno members should instead talk about the federal government’s People’s Aid Scheme (BR1M), and its subsidies to public hospitals and schools, he said. – July 29, 2017.