Winnable seats a key factor too, says Hisham - The Star

MALACCA: Winnable constituencies are as important as winnable candidates for the Barisan Nasional, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hisham­muddin Hussein said.

He added that it was not necessary for certain seats to only be assigned to Umno as other component parties could also represent Barisan.

“Although in the past, certain parties might have been associated with certain areas, we need to review if this is still valid.

“Winnable candidates are important to us, but so are winnable areas,” Hishammuddin, who is Home Minister, said after presenting awards to Rela volunteers here yesterday.

Regarding PAS’ reported intention to field more than 40% new faces in the more than 200 state and 60 parliamentary seats it was contesting, he said: “I think it brings with it a challenge to Pakatan Rakyat because there needs to be a formula when distributing seats.

Hishammuddin said reaching a mutual understanding among parties in a loose coalition such as Pakatan was harder than in Barisan.

“We (Barisan) have discussions in advance. This is a challenge to Pakatan.

“I want to see whether they have a mutual understanding or not,” he said, adding that PAS would be left alone to fight for hudud law if the issue was not listed in Pakatan’s common manifesto.

On DAP’s plans to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority seats, Hishammuddin said this was just being touted to fish for votes and win sympathy from the rakyat.

“In the end, the Pakatan component parties will return to their origins, with each party fighting for its own interest,” he said.

Regarding comments by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the position of Wanita Umno chief Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, he agreed that she should be mindful on the right time to step down.

He added that this should be practised by everyone.

“This is not something new to us (in the Barisan),” said Hishamuddin, citing the decision of his late father Tun Hussein Onn to step down as the country’s third prime minister at the height of his leadership.

“What Dr Mahathir said is what had been practised for a long time.”