Ahmad Zahid: Opposition are running scared of GE15, trying to buy time with flood, inflation narrative

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the Opposition’s narrative of floods and inflation was nothing more than a ruse to delay the general election (GE15).

In a statement today, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, claimed that the Opposition, particularly Pakatan Harapan (PH), feared a drubbing if GE15 were to be called this year.

“The real concern of the Opposition is that Malay voters, who make up the largest percentage of the country’s population, are less interested in supporting the coalition when BN is beating the election drum.

“PH is pretty much deadlocked and has no choice but to carve out more time. In other words, PH is trying to ‘buy time’ to delay the general election,” he said on his Facebook page today.

Citing a report by news portal MalaysiaNow, Ahmad Zahid said that Malay support for PH had hit an all-time low and the coalition was expected to garner less than 15 per cent of votes from this group in GE15.

He also chided the Opposition for only complaining about the risk of floods if GE15 were to coincide with the year-end monsoon and failing to offer a flood relief plan or a solution to combat inflation of its own.

“The Opposition is more interested in trying to find ways to win the general election rather than thinking about the people’s problems.

“This shows the true attitude of the Opposition. The strange thing is there are Umno allies that are still deceived by the Opposition’s propaganda.

“Or perhaps they have an ulterior motive for wanting to delay the general election before the monsoon season begins,” he added.

Last week, the Bagan Datuk MP came under fire for saying that Umno was willing “to wade through floodwater” to ensure BN emerges victorious in GE15.

He then said in response to the criticism that GE15 should be held immediately if the Opposition was worried about the polls coinciding with year-end floods.

He further said that this was just the latest in a litany of excuses designed to mask the Opposition’s real fear of being rejected by voters at the ballot box.