PUTRAJAYA, Oct 7 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said that Pakatan Harapan (PH) is hoping Barisan Nasional (BN) will field an Umno candidate for the coming Tanjung Piai by-election as it will ensure an easy win for the ruling party.
“We found that there are a lot of problems (in Tanjung Piai), so we are dependent on the opponent party to win, and that is by ‘requesting’ for them to field a candidate from Umno.
“Please lah (tolong lah), so that we can win,” he said in jest during a press conference here at the Perdana Leadership Foundation after the PH presidential council meeting.
When asked to elaborate on the ‘request’, Dr Mahathir reiterated: “So that we can win.”
The PH chairman said the coalition has yet to decide on a candidate for the by-election.
“We have not decided on a candidate yet, but it will be someone from PPBM,” he said.
The Election Commission (EC) has announced that the Tanjung Piai by-election will be held on November 16, with the Nomination Day set for November 2 and early voting on November 12.
The Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election was triggered by the death of its incumbent Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik, 42, from a heart attack last month.
It was reported that Umno grassroots has voiced their keenness for a party man to contest the upcoming Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election instead of MCA.
Meanwhile, commenting on the Budget 2020, Dr Mahathir said while there are some different views among the PH presidential council members (regarding the Budget), he was hopeful that the Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng will incorporate these changes in his Budget announcement (this Friday).
“We cannot reveal anything (now). It is embargoed until Friday (October 11),” he said.
