KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Datuk Mohd Nizar Najib, son of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said although the Pekan seat is suffering from cuts in its election machinery budget, the constituency is unaffected by the infighting happening in Barisan Nasional’s (BN) lynchpin party Umno.

"Pekan Umno is facing some financial constraints as well, but we are fortunate that the Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail has been helping us out so our condition is not as bad as in other places.

"Gone are the days when we (BN) dominated the flag and banner coverage, but we have to live with the new constraints and (try to) win the constituencies by the highest margin possible,” Nizar, who is currently contesting for the Peramu Jaya state seat, told The Vibes during an interview.

Nizar said that there are still volunteers coming forward to help set up campaign materials, such as flags and banners despite not getting paid at all.

"(The situation) is still manageable. I wouldn’t say we’re broke but (our funds) are definitely not what they used to be,” he was quoted saying.

He also said that the Umno division here is not affected by the larger infighting which has seen senior Umno politicians such as Arau incumbent MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim switch sides to Perikatan Nasional (PN) after BN and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dropped him from the 15th General Election (GE15).

Other party veterans that were dropped include Pasir Salak’s Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Padang Besar’s Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, and Ketereh’s Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

Zahid had received some backlash from his move to axe these Umno stalwarts as candidates.

However, Nizar Najib said that such actions were necessary to ensure the party’s long-term survival because voters are expecting BN to field new faces in the GE15.

"Voters are expecting Umno and BN to put up fresh candidates with modern ideas that are more acceptable to the public,”

"Any conflict within Umno arising from this decision should be viewed as ‘the price (a party has) to pay for implementing change’,” he was reported saying.

Speaking of his father’s jail sentence, he said that his incarceration is a big loss to the constituency and party, but they need to move on from it.

Nizar is currently facing a four-cornered fight against PN’s Abu Taib Muhammad, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Tugimon Abdul Hamid, and independent candidate Datuk Tengku Zainul Hisyam Tengku Hussin.

The incumbent Peramu Jaya assemblyman Datuk Seri Sheikh Mohamed Puzi Sheikh Ali went for the Pekan federal seat after Najib was sent to jail earlier this year. He will be facing four other contenders, namely PH’s Mohd Naim Zainal Abidin, Gerakan Tanah Air’s Datuk Mohammad Radhi Abdul Razak, PN’s Mohd Fadhil Noor Abdul Karim, and Tengku Zainul.