GE15: No such thing as easy win - PM Ismail Sabri

BERA: There is no such thing as an easy win for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob despite being challenged by two new contenders in his mission to retain the seat for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 15th General Election (GE15).

Ismail Sabri, who is up against Datuk Asmawi Harun of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Abas Awang from Pakatan Harapan (PH), said he could not afford to take lightly the challenges as BN must not only ensure victory in Bera but also across the country to be able to form a new government.

"Even though I am confident that I can win in Bera, the BN election machinery cannot take their work here or other places across the country lightly. The focus now is for me to win in Bera and for BN to also win and form the government. That's more important.

"If I win in Bera but BN lost like in 14th General Election, it won't mean a thing...so the party must win and lead the government."

He said this at a press conference after being officially nominated as the BN candidate for Bera for the GE15 at the nomination centre here today.

Ismail Sabri, however, said he was optimistic that BN can win the GE15 and become the dominant party in the new government of Malaysia through hard work and cooperation from all the component parties.

"With cooperation and hard work from our component parties and support from the people, we can win and form the new government even if our candidates are being challenged from multiple corners," he said.

In the 2018 General Election, Ismail Sabri, who is also UMNO vice-president, retained the seat after defeating PKR candidate Zakaria Abdul Hamid and PAS' Musaniff Ab Rahman with a 2,311-vote majority.

-- BERNAMA