NIBONG TEBAL: State Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman has confirmed he will not be a candidate in the 14th General Election (GE14).
Zainal, who won the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat in 2004, said he had made up his mind to withdraw in 2016.
“I will withdraw for the sake of the party,” he told a press conference at the Nibong Tebal Umno office here today.
“I made it clear to our Umno president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, two years ago and he asked me to prepare a team for GE14.
“I will head Penang Umno this time. I believe we are ready and I am confident this is the best team.”
Yesterday, he said he would make way for a new face who would appeal to young voters in the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat.
Zainal, who is the state-level Federal Action Council chairman, had lost to the opposition candidate in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
He said Umno was confident of winning the Nibong Tebal and Permatang Pauh parliamentary seats and five state seats.
“We are confident of maintaining power in three seats and are looking to win back two seats that had traditionally belonged to Umno.
“With the help of Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, we hope to win more seats so that we can form a new BN state government.”
Last night, Penang Umno had announced that it would contest in five parliamentary seats and 15 state seats. Other Umno component parties will contest for the other seats.
Penang has 13 parliamentary seats and 40 state seats.
