Wanita Umno leader: Women shunning BN
Muda Mohd NoorPublished: Jan 22, 2009 1:01 PM | Updated: Jan 22, 2009 2:52 PM
Women voters in last Saturday's Kuala Terengganu by-election had shunned Barisan Nasional (BN) and this is a cause for concern, said Wanita Umno Terengganu chief Wan Ramlah Wan Ahmad today.
exclusive
It happened on Saturday in Kuala Terengganu and Wanita Umno is worried that the trend will continue in the next general election.
Women voters in last Saturday's Kuala Terengganu by-election had shunned Barisan Nasional (BN) and this is a cause for concern, said Wanita Umno Terengganu chief Wan Ramlah Wan Ahmad today.
She is worried that the trend would continue in the next general election.
Wan Ramlah told Malaysiakini that women voters had openly expressed their dissatisfaction with BN to Umno vote canvassers during the by-election campaign.
What was more shocking, she stressed, was that these voters were Umno supporters who voted for the party in previous elections.
"I don't know why they said those things but the canvassers said they are disappointed with what was happening during the by-election.
"They complained of being unhappy with BN's choice of fielding Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
"They (the voters) asked, 'Doesn’t BN have any other candidate? Why is it always the children of Datuk Wan Salleh?'
"This is because Wan Ahmad's brother, Wan Hisham, had contested for the Ladang state seat (one of the four state seats in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency) in the last general election," she added.
In the general election, Wan Hisham was defeated by PAS candidate Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar whereas his brother Wan Ahmad Farid lost to PAS’ Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut by a 2,631 vote majority on Jan 17.
Campaign not well received
Meanwhile, Wan Ramlah said many women voters also expressed their dissatisfaction with Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said.
However, she declined to elaborate on the matter.
Apart from this, Wan Ramlah also lamented that Wanita Umno's campaign was not well received in Kuala Terengganu.
She said Wanita Umno had targeted small groups of at least 15 women to attend their gatherings, but only ‘two or three’ showed up.
"They gave all sorts of excuses. I do not know whose fault it was but the Wanita Umno Kuala Terengganu did not work in the manner it should have worked," she added.
The Wanita Umno campaign in Kuala Terangganu was headed by the wing’s chief, Rafidah Aziz.
She is worried that the trend would continue in the next general election.
Wan Ramlah told Malaysiakini that women voters had openly expressed their dissatisfaction with BN to Umno vote canvassers during the by-election campaign. What was more shocking, she stressed, was that these voters were Umno supporters who voted for the party in previous elections.
"I don't know why they said those things but the canvassers said they are disappointed with what was happening during the by-election.
"They complained of being unhappy with BN's choice of fielding Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
"They (the voters) asked, 'Doesn’t BN have any other candidate? Why is it always the children of Datuk Wan Salleh?'
"This is because Wan Ahmad's brother, Wan Hisham, had contested for the Ladang state seat (one of the four state seats in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency) in the last general election," she added. In the general election, Wan Hisham was defeated by PAS candidate Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar whereas his brother Wan Ahmad Farid lost to PAS’ Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut by a 2,631 vote majority on Jan 17.
Campaign not well received
Meanwhile, Wan Ramlah said many women voters also expressed their dissatisfaction with Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said.
However, she declined to elaborate on the matter.
Apart from this, Wan Ramlah also lamented that Wanita Umno's campaign was not well received in Kuala Terengganu.
She said Wanita Umno had targeted small groups of at least 15 women to attend their gatherings, but only ‘two or three’ showed up.
"They gave all sorts of excuses. I do not know whose fault it was but the Wanita Umno Kuala Terengganu did not work in the manner it should have worked," she added.
The Wanita Umno campaign in Kuala Terangganu was headed by the wing’s chief, Rafidah Aziz.
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