IPOH: Umno election machinery in Rompin should understand and help explain various issues that are affecting the rural people, especially the Goods and Services Tax (GST), as it will ensure that the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate could retain the parliamentary seat with a bigger majority votes.
Its vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said it was important for Umno leaders and members to understand the main issues as it would enable them to convince the people that various measures introduced by the BN government would actually bring more benefits to them.
"They must know how to counter slander and lies especially on GST. We have to explain that it is not an additional tax but a replacement to the Sales and Service Tax," he said after launching the Perak Umno Youth membership drive here today.
Shafie admitted that some items would be pricier after the implementation of the GST, but stressed that stricter enforcement by the agencies involved would ensure that the prices of various essential goods remain the same.
"I also hope that Umno Youth could go down to the ground and understand other problems faced by the people in Rompin and find ways to solve them.”
He also said that BN had made the right decision when it named Datuk Hasan Arifin as the candidate for the Rompin by-election as the acting Rompin Umno divisional chief had vast experience in politics and knew the constituents well.
The announcement of Hasan's nomination was made by deputy BN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at a gathering in front of Rompin Umno office in Muadzam Shah yesterday.
The by-election was called following the death of the incumbent Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis in a helicopter crash on April 4, in Semenyih Selangor. The Election Commission has set April 22 and May 5, respectively, for the nomination of candidates and polling day for the by-election.