KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Selangor Umno chief Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin urged his party mates to come together for the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baru by-election and support the candidate from the unity government, even if it be from DAP.

In an interview with Utusan Malaysia published today, he said Umno must not be hampered by claims that they will be used by DAP, but instead remember that the two parties are now on the same side.

"We in Umno must agree that the candidate we put forward is a candidate of the unity government. This surpasses any party within the government. Certainly, BN, as part of the government or coalition, has a responsibility to ensure the victory of the candidate,” he was quoted saying.

He said the party must come together and understand the bigger picture.

"Essentially, we are part of the government. This is our candidate. Whether we like it or not, we cannot say he represents specific parties but he represents the government,” he told the newspaper.

He said the opposition and critics will most certainly play on the narrative that Umno will be helping DAP win and they have thought about how to face such accusations.

"We must see why we feel the need to allow this assumption that we are being ridden and used by DAP. Can’t we look at it from another perspective? With Umno’s presence in the successful government, we can bring moderate politics.

"It means all parties — Umno, DAP, PKR, Amanah — can be moderate. With Umno representing the Malay voice, if there is negative perception towards DAP before, we can neutralise it. We can moderate DAP itself,” he was quoted as saying.

Megat said that it would be political for the Perikatan Nasional Opposition to want to play up issues close to the sensitivities of Malay voters.

"They forget that they were once in the same coalition but at that time with various other reasons,” he said, but added that it was their strategy to use scare tactics amongst Malay voters.

MCA and MIC had earlier said they would not campaign in the upcoming Kuala Kubu Bharu by-election if the unity coalition did not field a candidate from BN.

Umno’s leadership has said they respected their decision but expressed hope that they would change their mind.

The Kuala Kubu Bharu state seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent Lee Kee Hiong, 58, on March 21.

The Election Commission had set the date for Nomination Day and early voting for the by-election on April 27 and May 7 respectively.