SHAH ALAM, April 23 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is convinced that the Indian community in the Shah Alam parliamentary constituency have accepted Datuk Zulkifli Noordin as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the 13th General Election (GE13) and will vote for him.
He said the action of a member of the Indian community to approach Zulkifli and kiss him on nomination day reflected the trust of the Indian community since and the picture was captured and uploaded on Facebook.
“On what Zulkifli said 10 years ago, he had apologised,” said the Prime Minister in a brief speech during a visit to the Section 18 Voting District Operations room (PDM), here, today.
Najib was accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Selangor BN deputy chairman Datuk Seri Noh Omar and Zulkifli, during the visit. On April 1, Zulkifli had apologised to the Hindus and admitted having made a mockery of their religion, but said it was a mistake he made 10 years ago while he was with PAS.
Najib believed that with the high spirit shown by BN party workers in Shah Alam, the coalition can wrest the Shah Alam parliamentary seat, as well as the Kota Anggerik and Batu Tiga state seats, from the opposition. He said the BN machinery had to work hard to wrest back Selangor from the opposition and it was vital that they do so as most of the country’s wealth were in the state.
“The Selangor government had objected to the Langat 2 water treatment plant project and there will be water problems if we (BN) don’t win back Selangor,” he added.
Najib pledged to look after the welfare and meet the request of the Indian community in Shah Alam. Later, at a media conference held at a hotel here, Najib said Zulkifli had fought for issues involving the Indian community, like Tamil schools and temples in Shah Alam.
“Compared to Pakatan Rakyat which destroyed seven temples, (but) how come that is not made a major issue … isn’t that more serious, more of a slap to the Hindus,” he added.
The heavy rain did not deter local residents from coming out in full force to meet the Prime Minister, who is also Selangor BN chairman. A Puteri Umno member from Seksyen 18 Timur branch, Nurul Aqmal Mohd Amin, took the opportunity to celebrate her 25th birthday. Najib and Rosmah then joined local residents for a light meal.
BERNAMA
