UMNO, BN WING LEADERS DESERVE WIDER OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ELECTION CANDIDATES - AHMAD ZAHID

SUNGAI PETANI, Dec 14 (Bernama) -- Leaders of UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) wings must be given wider opportunities to become party candidates in the next election.

BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said these Wanita, Youth and Puteri leaders, besides them being the grassroots, also played crucial roles in helping the party, especially when the party went through hard times.

"When times were difficult, it was they who helped UMNO and BN. When we were kicked around, it was these grassroots members who remained loyal to UMNO and BN... the ones doing the most work were the BN women's wing, the ones with the least number of seats were also the women.

"I wish to remind the BN secretary-general and the UMNO secretary-general, in the next election, be it the general election (GE) or state polls, to give a chance to the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings.

"Our era is over, this is the era of the younger generation. We were young once, we became candidates when we were still young," he said when officiating the launch of the Kedah BN Convention in Bedong, near here, today, which was also attended by BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and Kedah BN chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

Slamming those who were willing to abandon the party's struggle for personal gains, Ahmad Zahid, who is also the UMNO president, said they prioritised members who are loyal to the party.

 He reiterated that the compatibility among the parties making up the Unity Government needed to be protected by, among others, not accepting members from other parties among the component parties.

Ahmad Zahid also said that BN viewed Kedah as a swing state and is confident of wresting back the state, which is currently under the administration of Perikatan Nasional, in the next election.

"We view Kedah as a swing state, as we do Terengganu and Perlis. 'Swing' here means there can be a change of government...," he said.

-- BERNAMA