'Perhaps it was sabotage'

By Rahmah Ghazali

EXCLUSIVE PETALING JAYA: PKR's chief excuse for its defeat in Hulu Selangor is that the contest was a buy-eletion, where its rival Barisan Nasional had purportedly purchased the votes.

Some, however, have attributed it to the party's campaign machinery, which was running on an empty tank while BN accelerated towards the finish line.

A more serious allegation is that PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim, who lost by 1,725 votes to BN's P Kamalanathan, was a victim of internal sabotage, which party leaders have been quick to dismiss.

But when the question was posed to Zaid himself during an exclusive interview with FMT yesterday, he did not discount the possibility.

“There were some people in the party who did not want me to win,” he said, refusing to name them.

"I am not interested in blaming anyone but I felt that there were some elements in the machinery that obviously was not keen on me winning. I could tell by their conduct, and by the things they did, or didn't do,” he added.

Yesterday, FMT published a report, which quoted PKR sources as claiming that the defeat was a result of internal sabotage.

They said Zaid's presence in the party was not welcomed by certain ambitious leaders, and a victory in Hulu Selangor would only fortify his position.

The sources pointed the finger at PKR vice-president Azmin Ali, but the latter has not responded to the allegation.

'I don't pick easy seats'

Meanwhile, Zaid said he suspected something was amiss when the by-election campaign did not get off to a good start.

However, the former law minister added that he managed to pull through due to the assistance provided by his men.

"It is either (sabotage) or other things. I don't know. Maybe they were not interested (in campaigning for me)... If I did not have my own team and resources, it would have been worse.

"Maybe they did not want me to win because they were worried about their positions in the party,” he added.

Although some claim that Zaid would have stood a better chance in an urban seat, the PKR supreme council member, however, believes that he was the best candidate for Hulu Selangor.

"I was the best candidate, otherwise I wouldn't have come that close (to winning). There is no question that I was the best candidate," said Zaid, who polled an impressive 23,272 votes.

The former Umno leader and Kota Baru MP also said that it does not matter where he would contest in the next general election.

"I am not afraid to contest anywhere. I am not the sort of person who would pick easy seats. There is no such thing as an easy seat,” he said.

Reiterating his earlier accusation that Barisan Nasional had played “dirty”, Zaid said: "If (Prime Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) did not bribe like that, I would have probably won.”

The 59-year-old politician stressed that he did not regret his decision to contest in Hulu Selangor.

"Why should I regret? For someone who had to fight (former premier Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) and Najib combined, I think I did well," he said.

Mahathir had also hit the campaign trail and joined other Umno leaders in branding Zaid as an alcoholic and gambler.

However, there is one thing which Zaid wished he could change – have more time to explain the allegations against him to the voters.

"It was just too much to answer within seven days (of campaigning). I had no time to explain to the people. If I had a few more days, I would have probably won," he said.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

FMT: Is this the end of your political career?

Zaid Ibrahim: No, this is part of my struggle, it is just one of those events in the struggle.

Why did you pick Hulu Selangor?

I would have contested anywhere in Malaysia except where there are 10,000 postal votes. I am not afraid to contest anywhere. I am not the sort of person who would pick easy seats. Let's say, in the next general election, if I'm sent to a particular place, I would go. It doesnt matter to me. There are no easy seats.

On losing Malay votes

I think my message got through to the Chinese, Indians and even the Malays. But some communities are more susceptible to bribes than others. Some communities are more susceptible to lies than others. It is part of the process that we have to go through.

If they (BN) think this is what it takes for them to win (in Hulu Selangor), I am sure they will have a tougher time in other places. This is the seat where they won with 5,000 votes in 2004 and this is an Umno stronghold. The 2008 general election was a bit of a fluke but in 2004, it was the true strength of BN. But now, the PM himself had to spend three days there to campaign to win the seat.

Can you explain the swing of Indian votes to BN then?

There is no swing. Like I said, 2008 was a peculiar situation. So whatever percentage (of Indian votes) I got, was good enough. They (BN) have the Orang Asli votes, I could not see them (Orang Asli) because of the blockages, and the postal votes which I had no access to, they have Felda. So overall, I did very well.

Umno is mulling legal action against you for calling it a “corrupt” by-election.

(Laughs) Please do so, by all means.

What about Mahathir's scathing attack against you?

Mahathir is a vicious man. He is an evil man. That is all. People have judged him. I am quite confident that people willl see him in the true light when things have settled.

MIC president S Samy Vellu said you are a reserved person, who lacks in the area of human relations, and that you never spoke to him even once in Parliament when you were MP (of Kota Baru).

Samy Vellu was not even in Parliament most of the time, how would he know? As far as being reserved, I think the people can judge for themselves. I don't need to respond to this.

You said that there were PKR leaders who did not support you, do you feel let down by your party?

I don't want to say too much on that. I don't want to make accusations about party leaders. I just want to say, like I said before, there were certain unsatisfactory aspects during the campaign period.

If there was an element of sabotage, would you quit PKR?

I am not here to judge PKR, I take it as an organisation that has to change in order to be more effective and that is constructive criticism. That is not trying to bad mouth the party. I don't do that.

How did your family take the smear campaign against you?

My wife, my family. They know me. I have hidden nothing from them. Of course, they felt sad but that is part and parcel of being in the opposition. All the stuff they said about me, when I was with them (in Umno), they never raised it. It is just when I joined the opposition, suddenly I became the bad guy, but they are no angels either.

How do you think Kamalanathan would perform as an MP?

We will wait and see. I don't want to say anything now as I only met him on a few occasions.