GE15: Annuar Musa a gentleman leader - UMNO veteran

KOTA BHARU: Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa's positive and open-minded attitude should be commended despite not being named as a candidate by Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 15th general election (GE15).

Kelantan Former Elected Representatives Council of Malaysia (Mubarak) chairman Datuk Mohd Rozali Isohak said it clearly showed Annuar's maturity in the political world as a cool person facing such a predicament.

"It is true that I was also surprised when Annuar's name was not nominated for the Ketereh parliamentary seat but what is done in politics is one of the party's strategies, maybe the party has thought of the best place for Annuar.

"Therefore, the attitude displayed by Annuar is very good, which is that of a real leader," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Yesterday, BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced Kelantan Puteri UMNO chief Marzuani Ardila Ariffin to be the candidate for Ketereh Parliament in GE15.

Annuar who is also Communications and Multimedia Minister in a post on Facebook early this morning said that even if he was not re-nominated, the matter should be viewed by looking ahead.

He also expressed his appreciation to the more than 25,000 voters in Ketereh who voted for him in GE-14.

When asked to comment on the list of BN candidates who will contest in Kelantan, Rozali said the decision made by the party's leadership clearly shows the wisdom of organising strategies to win votes, especially young voters.

"Many new faces were featured in GE15 and we are confident that all parties are satisfied with the party's results," he said.

Meanwhile, Universiti Utara Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus senior research fellow Associate Prof Datuk Dr Baharuddin Aziz said it was time for Annuar to give way to a fresh face from UMNO and help her to win the Ketereh parliamentary seat.

"It would be best for him (Annuar) to support the Ketereh parliamentary candidate instead of contesting on another party's ticket because we know he is one of the senior people in Kelantan who had served UMNO," said the political analyst.

-- BERNAMA