Zahid's daughter slams Anwar's political secretary for 'stupid' comments on dad's narrow win

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's senior political secretary has come under attack over a statement revealing that he had been asked not to challenge his razor-thin defeat to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Bagan Datuk, days before the Umno president gave Anwar much-needed support to form the government after the 2022 general election.

In a recent podcast interview, Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin recalled how Anwar called him on election night and instructed him not to seek a recount in Bagan Datuk after what he said was an unusually long counting process that ended with Zahid being declared the winner by a narrow margin of 348 votes.

None other than the  Umno president's daughter, Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid, launched a scathing attack on Shamsul, describing his remarks as "stupid" and the result of a "hallucination".

"When someone considers himself the most knowledgeable and heroic, what comes out is a confession based on hallucination," she wrote.

"So now you claim to have made sacrifices for the alliance?" she asked, referring to the alliance between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Zahid's Barisan Nasional (BN) that led to Anwar being appointed prime minister after the hung parliament in the 15th general election.

Nurhidayah then said it was justified for Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh to attack some leaders of coalition government, believed to be a reference to the recent war of words between him and DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok.

She suggested that BN and PKR should file a suit against Shamsul.

Umno Supreme Council member Azalina Othman Said, meanwhile, said it was not appropriate for Shamsul to question Zahid's victory.

"Shamsul should accept the decision and use the Election Commission channel to raise objections to show his commitment to political integrity and professionalism," Azalina said.

In a clip of the podcast which has since gone viral, Shamsul said he felt something was wrong when the counting of votes continued after midnight, as it became clear that Zahid was trailing in his own stronghold.

"What's interesting is that Bagan Datuk only had about sixty thousand voters. The (results) for the other constituencies have already been announced... but in Bagan Datuk, not yet.

He said he was determined to win and was ready to call for a recount of the ballot papers as he only lost by 348 votes, while there were nearly 800 spoilt votes.

However, Shamsul said Anwar advised him not to do so.

"He (Anwar) called and said that 'I am impressed with your hard work in Bagan Datuk' and so on. 'But Sam, we want to form a government. Zahid has already issued a letter to form a government," Shamsul said on the "Apa Cerita?" podcast.

Zahid was instrumental in helping Anwar fulfil his ambition to become prime minister by delivering him the support of 30 BN MPs, despite some of them initially backing Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin for the top post.

The BN chairman had bound the coalition's candidates with a signed pledge that gave him the authority to decide on future alliances.

Meanwhile, Azalina said Shamsul should focus on political stability and avoid "confusing statements" as it would lead to "unnecessary speculation".