ALOR STAR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had dropped a hint that Umno's candidate for the upcoming Kemaman by-election could be someone from outside the party hierarchy.
The Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman said the move was not entirely new for the party as it has been done before and was well accepted.
"We have tried this direct candidate without taking into account hierarchy in the party (the candidate's position in Umno) and it was well accepted.
"Thus, there is huge possibilities that we are adopting similar approach for Kemaman by-election," he said in a press conference after opening Kedah Umno's political bureau retreat here today.
Present were Kedah Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, his deputy Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Rahim and the state Umno leaders.
Umno is expected to introduce its candidate for the Kemaman by-election this Monday, ahead of the nomination day on Nov 18.
Asked on whether Umno is confident of turning around the 27,000-vote majority obtained by Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate for the seat in the 15th General Election held last November, Zahid who is Deputy Prime Minister said the immediate focus would be on reducing PN's majority.
The by-election was called following the decision of the Terengganu Election Court on Sept 26 to annul the victory of PN candidate from Pas, Che Alias Hamid in the 15th General Election (GE15).
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed Dec 2 as the polling day for the by-election, while nominations and early voting are set for Nov 18 and 28 respectively.
In a related development, Zahid added that Umno will revamp the structure of its election machinery, beginning in the upcoming Kemaman by-election.
He said the changes to be based on the inputs gathered during the Kedah Umno political bureau's retreat.
"Although the point was not included in the Kedah Umno political bureau's resolutions, we have decided that the party indeed need to have structural revamp for our election machinery to face the next general election.
"As the Umno president, I am committed to assist Kedah Umno to implement resolutions formulated from this retreat. I am confident that we have an ample time of 36 months from now to gear up for the 16th General Election.
"It may sounds too early but we need to start rolling out some initiatives, particularly in uniting the leadership at the state, divisions and branches level.
"This initiative will be followed suit by Umno leadership in the other states," he said.