KOTA TINGGI: Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has dismissed as fake a letter saying there were four people who have been barred from taking to the stage at ceramah for the Nenggiri by-election.

He said BN, which is fielding an Umno member in the by-election, would welcome all who could help its candidate's campaign.

"That letter being circulated is fake, so that means it is merely a poison pen letter. There isn't anything that true in it.

"At this point in time, we would welcome anyone who can help our candidate win in Nenggiri," he said.

Zahid, who is deputy prime minister and rural and regional development minister, said this to reporters after a ministry function in Desaru.

The said letter being circulated, purportedly signed by Zahid, names the four people barred from the campaign as PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, Umno supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam, Jeli Umno Youth information chief Wan Mahussin Wan Zain, and an influencer known as Wan Hadi.

Polling for the by-election is set for Aug 17, with nomination day fixed for Aug 3, but BN took the unusual step of announcing its chosen candidate - Kelantan Umno Youth chief Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani - early, on July 18.

Asked whether making an early announcement would prove to be an advantage for the party, Zahid said this had allowed Azmawi to go down to the ground early to engage voters in Nenggiri.

The Umno president said there were 20 voting districts in Nenggiri and the party had already coordinate the candidate's movements to all the districts.

"There are five Orang Asli voting districts and it is difficult to get to these, but we have already started work early, so this will help ease things during the campaign period so that our election machinery can go to other places instead.

"There are also nine voting districts at traditional villages, five under the South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) and one under Felda... all of these have been taken into consideration and we have coordinated our election machinery (to tackle them).

"Our Nenggiri by-election director, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who is also Gua Musang Umno division chief, has discussed with me the effective approaches and methods for the campaign in all the respective areas," he said.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2024/07/1081462/nenggiri-election-zahid-dismisses-poison-pen-letter-says-bn-welcomes