Umno members were today reminded to rid themselves of the feedling of dissatisfaction over candidates chosen by the top party and Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership if they want to see BN remain in power after the coming 13th general election.     

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Umno members must all set aside arising issues and give their full support to the selected Umno/BN candidates to ensure they win in the elections.     

"Don't be too quick to reject the chosen candidates. The priority should be  ensuring victory so that BN can win big and form a strong government," he said at a gathering with over 2,000 Sik residents, here, today.     

Also present were Dr Mahathir's wife Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Kedah Umno liaison chief Ahmad Bashah Hanipah and Belantik assemblyman Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah.     

Dr Mahathir said the move by the disgruntled not to support the chosen candidates was due to the tendency of the Malays to forget or "mudah lupa" (about the past), which would ultimately cause problems again if Umno and BN did not get enough majority in Parliament.     

"I've always reminded the Malays that they tend to easily forget about the hundreds of years of being colonised by foreign powers until the time when they managed to rise to demand for and gain independence after defeating the Malayan Union," he said.     

Later, speaking at a press conference, Dr Mahathir called on all members and supporters of Umno and BN to give priority to maintaining party unity.     

"With a strong government formed after the elections, the welfare of the people will be better taken care of and there will be more drastic implementation of development programmes," he added.     

Dr Mahathir also visited Kampung Pelangi, Gulau, near here, which has been experiencing frequent flooding due to logging activities, where he said the PAS-led state government had failed to control logging activities.      

Dr Mahathir, who today saw for himself the uncontrolled logging activities which had caused the river water in Kampung Pelangi to overflow, inundating the village recently, urged the state government to stop excessive logging.     

A new concrete bridge built for the benefit of the villagers, including schoolchildren, also collapsed a month ago due to the fast-moving flood waters which carried a lot of timber debris.     

- Bernama