Zahid supports shorter period

PUTRAJAYA: Umno vice-president hopeful Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has thrown his support behind a suggestion for a shorter campaign period.
As an alternative, he proposed that the Umno general assembly be held in December as originally scheduled but to allow Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to remain in his post until March.
Zahid, a Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, said the four-month wait to the polls in March could give rise to various “incidents”, such as character assassination and poison pen letters.
“We don’t just have to worry about the prevalence of money politics during such a long campaign period or lower productivity on the part of the candidates.
“There will also be more time for certain unscrupulous groups to spread malicious lies, write and distribute poison pen letters and for character assassination,” he told reporters after attending the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) Hari Raya open house here yesterday.
“I am all for the transition plan and it’s not my intention to ask the PM to leave earlier. But if the management committee brings the proposal of a shorter campaigning period to the supreme council meeting next week, I will support it.”
He was commenting on the statement by Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that there was concern among the candidates that the campaign period was too long.
So far, Zahid has 15 nominations in the race for vice-presidency.
Zahid also said that it was time for Malaysians to stop focusing on narrow issues such as race and the social contract and move on to bigger matters.
“The special position of the Malays and the status of Islam are embodied in the Federal Constitution,” he said, adding that further discussion on the social contract and on the historical events leading to it would give rise to more problems.
“It’s better for us to discuss ways to enhance relations among the various ethnic groups and how to further promote the idea of us as one nation,” he said.
On MCA Youth’s call for the Barisan Nasional deputy chairmanship to be given to the party which is one of the most senior components in the coalition, Zahid said the matter was worth considering.
“But it must have the consensus of all members,” he said.

tunku : this man was pak lah no 1 supporter and he is the one who offer himself to contest the deputy president post before pak lah announced he's retiring. let see what pak lah supporters has to say for their man's character?when muhyiddin said it, they bashed him. for me, umno does not need zahid hamidi type as it's leader.