KUALA TERENGGANU, 9 Jan 2009: Datuk Seri Najib Razak today explained that Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh became the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Kuala Terengganu by-election by a collective decision between him and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Hence, the Deputy Prime Minister said the claim by certain quarters that the Kuala Terengganu Umno division chief was Abdullah’s man did not arise at all.
“Some say Wan Farid is Abdullah’s man… he is not anybody’s man because the Prime Minister and I together chose him.
“Why would we push aside a local man and a deputy minister? He holds an law degree,” he said at the ground breaking ceremony for the Pantai Pandak relocation project in Kampung Cherong Binjai, Chendering.
Present were Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said, State Secretary Datuk Mokhtar Nong and Wan Farid.
Najib said he had to make the explanation because many quarters made various assumptions regarding Wan Farid’s selection.
“That is why I need to explain; because there are all sorts of assumptions in the analytical pieces. This cannot go on, and our candidate has nothing do with Abdullah, me or Ahmad,” he said.
Nonetheless, he said, Wan Farid’s candidacy had to be connected to something namely BN’s role in handling national and state policies. Therefore, it was important for BN to ensure Wan Farid get elected as the people’s representative for the parliamentary constituency, he said.
He also said BN was always committed to making changes including for the people’s wellbeing and comfort.
The party had learnt its lesson from the 12th general election in March that it should listen to the people’s voices and do what they hoped it should do, he said.
BN, he said, was a party that always made good its promises unlike the opposition who knew how to talk but failed to carry it through.
Meanwhile, Ahmad said the Terengganu government would build 120 apartment units in Kampung Cherung Binjai for the Pantai Pandak residents, most of whom were fisherfolk.
Each unit would have three bedrooms and two bathrooms while the cost would be determiend later, he said. — Bernama
