LARUT - Perikatan Nasional (PN) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin did not take to heart the cheering of the opposition party who chanted the words’ traitor’ and ‘frog’ during the nomination process for the 15th General Election (GE15) at the Selama District and Land Office here on Saturday.
He said that such cheers did not reflect the true meaning of the voter’s support in the area to him.
"That's a common thing in elections. The cheering doesn't give any meaning because the ones who give meaning are the voters.
"When I meet the candidates and representatives from the other side, they hug me and some mentioned about the things I have done for them, showing that they know the contributions that I have done," he said.
The chants by the party's supporters have heated the atmosphere in the area outside the Larut Parliamentary candidate nomination centre.
The provocation, however, did not cause a commotion following strict monitoring and control from the police.
Commenting further, Hamzah, who was also the Home Minister, said that the actions of the opposing party only showed their arrogance and pride after gaining power in the government.
"Even if they say I'm a traitor, they don't realise what I did is for the people, not for myself.
"They can stand today, proud, arrogant all due to the power given. Let's see when they lose, they will all be silent," he said.
In this GE15, Hamzah who represented Perikatan Nasional (PN) would defend the Larut parliamentary seat which he has held since 2008.
He would face a four-cornered competition with Mohd Shafiq Fhadly Mahmud who represented BN, Zolkarnain Abidin from Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Auzaie Fadzlan Shahidi representing Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA).
In the last GE14, Hamzah won the Larut parliamentary seat on a BN ticket after he defeated Pas candidate Abu Husin Mohamad with a majority of 4,486 votes.
Hamzah then announced his exit from Umno and joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in 2019.