BN confident of wresting 20 Opposition seats
MALACCA, Dec 24 – Barisan Nasional (BN) is capable of wresting back 20 opposition-held seats to help secure two-thirds majority in the coming 13th general election, says Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
He is confident that BN can retain the 140 parliamentary seats it won and capture five of 23 seats held by PAS, five of 29 held by DAP and 10 of the 31 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) seats.
He said the confidence was based on various factors including the problems faced by the opposition in several seats that it had won.
“It’s logical because, for example, seven of the PKR seats are already problematic for the opposition as six as the incumbents left the party to become independents while it lost the Hulu Selangor seat.”
He said this after attending the opening of a professionalism-enhancing retreat of the Information Welfare and Recreation Club by Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, here, today.
Ahmad, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was also an important factor in ensuring victory for BN.
“The people have benefited from the various incentives and privileges introduced by the prime minister such as the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) and 1Malaysia Book Voucher, as well as the transformation programmes.”
Besides that, he said, the winnable candidates to be fielded by BN would also contribute to the ruling coalition recapturing some of the opposition-held seats.
However, Ahmad reminded that victory could be achieved if BN members did not resort to “cah keting” or sabotage against the party or the chosen candidates. – Bernama