Perak Menteri Besar Tajol Rosli Ghazali today said the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership will decide whether Umno information chief Megat Junid Megat Ayob and Deputy Education Minister Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin will contest in the general election.

According to a Bernama report, he said the position of the two Perak Umno leaders would be decided when he meets Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Abdul Razak to finalise the Umno candidate list.

"The final decision on the candidate line-up will be made by Abdullah. We in Perak will accept whatever directive of the party leadership," said Tajol, who is the state BN and Umno chief.

In the last polls, Megat Junid lost to PAS candidate in the Parit parliamentary constituency while Aziz is the Gopeng Umno division pro tem head and a senator. The Gopeng parliamentary seat is held by MCA.

MIC seat

Commenting on Aziz's recent statement that he was prepared to contest in the MIC-held Tapah parliamentary constituency, Tajol Rosli said a Tapah Umno delegation came to see him over the matter and Umno wants the seat back.

He added that MIC need not worry because the BN leadership would replace it with another seat if Tapah was given to Aziz.

Tajol Rosli, who is also Perak BN and Umno chief, said all 24 Umno divisions in the state have been asked to submit five names, excluding the incumbent, for parliamentary and state seats to be submitted to Abdullah.

"Those who lost in the last general election are not listed except division chiefs but the party leadership can pick anyone who they think suitable, including outsiders," he said.

He said it would be easier for the divisional leadership to accept outsiders if the candidate merely focused on the parliamentary seat and had no ambition to vie for divisional posts in the party election.

Teachers support BN

In another developemnt, the 6,000-strong National Union of Tamil School Teachers will deploy its members to canvass votes for the BN.

Its president Shahul Hamid Mydin Shah said about 100 members would be deployed to every parliament and state constituency where MIC candidates were contesting.

"We want to make sure the MIC and BN win 100 percent. The present government has done a lot for the teachers and this is time to repay that," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

MIC candidates contested in seven parliament and 15 state seats in the 1999 general election and is expected to get an additional two parliament and four state seats this time.

Shahul Hamid said the union would strive to ensure government servants, especially teachers supported the BN.

"We feel the government has carried out many programmes for the benefit of the teaching community, including giving better pay and increasing their perks and allowances," he added.