BN's Adnan Seman: How Coffee in Vegas Has Propelled Him to Bandar Tun Razak

"My credentials represent the young professional Malays who speak the truth and are brave to criticise the party because there is always room for improvement in what the government does," says Bandar Tun Razak Barisan National (BN) candidate Adnan Seman for GE14.

Adnan, a 42-year-old lawyer, says that the people must have the courage to stand up for truth.

He insists he is no stranger to Bandar Tun Razak, as he was not only raised and educated there but has always been active in its UMNO and BN politics and activities.

"Of course, when they (party leadership) chose me, it means I am a winnable candidate," says Adnan.

Adnan made the news when he was brought in as a last minute replacement to for UMNO Bandar Tun Razak chief Datuk Rizalman Mokhtar who had fancied his chances of being nominated to stand as BN candidate.

However, Rizalman’s chances evaporated when he was initially tested positive for the presence of drugs in his urine following a raid on a karoke club in Jalan Imbi named Club de Vegas in early April. Rizalman had then protested his innocence claiming he was set up and that he was only drinking coffee prior to the 3 am raid at the club.

He was cleared later by police on the grounds that the test strips used to carry out the initial test was too sensitive, thereby clearing his name. However, by that time damage had been done and his chances of ever being selected evaporated.

Although in the initial days, Adnan seemed a bit fazed with the media limelight he was getting, he obviously has come to terms and indeed now revels in his new-found status.

Despite the sidelined Rizalman being within earshot, Adnan says that he is no mere proxy.

"I represent the party. Every vote you give me is a vote for Adnan Seman and Barisan Nasional, not for Rizalman. (When they vote BN, they choose me, not Rizalman but Adnan Seman," says Adnan repeating his own name a few times to get the message across.

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

He says he knows he has to toe the party line but he believes that if there is a need for improvement and betterment when it comes to government policies, it must be made known to the party leaders.

"I want open debates with different (political) parties but for the same objective.

"If the policy is good, you have to say it is good but there will always be room for improvement. Certain policies will give defect to the people and we must tell the leaders that this will affect the people. We must have the courage to tell the leaders that such policies must be revised because at the end of the day, the people's interests must prevail. The people's interest must be the ultimate agenda.

"My belief is very clear - what I want is a country where all people with different political inclinations can live together. We see the track record of Barisan Nasional as a party that looks after people's interests.

"Just because I criticise the government, it does not mean I am against the party. We must draw a clear line - party members must be given the opportunity to criticise the government even at the risk of sounding like the opposition," says Adnan.

He says that there will only be good governance and leadership when corruption is rooted out from all sectors including the leaders of the country and the corporate sector.

"It is now time to change our normal practices which condones corruption," says Adnan.

Adnan places his full confidence and trust in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC’s) in investigating corruption allegations and that if any party gets the all-clear after investigation, then that should be the last word on the matter.

Adnan says that he intends to focus on tackling social problems caused by badly-planned development in the constituency.

Adnan says he is confident of securing up to 3,000 more votes than his nearest rival when the votes are tallied. He faces PAS's Dr Rosni Adam and Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar from PKR, who left the Tumpat parliamentary seat in Kelantan to contest in the urban seat.

The Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency has 91,000 voters with a Malay majority of about 53 percent. The former Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim won the seat under the PKR ticket in GE13.