Khir Toyo seeks comeback, ‘I never left Sungai Besar’
INTERVIEW | Former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo revealed that he has always wanted to return to his home constituency of Sungai Besar
He said this in response to Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Md Yunos’ rebuke on June 5 that Khir should “go back” instead of making a “comeback” upon receiving news that Khir wishes to contest the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat in the coming election.
“The issue of lobbying (to contest the seat) does not arise because the party knows which candidates are winnable and which are not, and for the party, the priority will be given to winnable candidates.
“And with regard to me and Sungai Besar, I’ve never left Sungai Besar. People say ‘go back’, of course, I’d go back to Sungai Besar because my home is in Sungai Besar. My political career began in Sungai Besar.
“So Alhamdulillah (praise God) for telling me to go back to Sungai Besar, I have no problem with that,” he said in an interview with Malaysiakini.
On June 5, Utusan Malaysia reported that Jamal advised Khir’s supporters to focus on readying the party’s election machinery, instead of lobbying for their leader to be the candidate for the constituency, located in the northwestern tip of Selangor.
“The Umno divisional leadership at this time is not thinking about candidates but wants to ensure the party’s operations will run smoothly to tackle and win the election. He (Khir) does not need to make a comeback, but should just go back,” Jamal was quoted as saying.
The Sungai Besar parliamentary constituency comprises the Sungai Panjang and Sekinchan state seats. Khir was the Sungai Panjang state assemblyperson after winning the seat at the 1999 general election, and holding it for two terms until he was defeated at the 2008 general election.
He succeeded Abu Hassan Omar as Selangor menteri besar from Aug 18, 2000, until March 13, 2008, when BN lost control of the Selangor government to the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
Former menteri besar Mohamad Khir Toyo released from prison in 2016
Now, Khir said the priority is to win back the Sungai Besar seat for BN.
The seat is currently held by Bersatu’s Muslimin Yahya, who narrowly defeated BN’s Budiman Mohd Zohdi at the 2018 general election with a majority of 714 votes.
Khir said he often goes on the ground to conduct various activities in the villages around Sungai Besar, even though it goes unreported in the media.
When asked whether he would like a second chance to be Selangor menteri besar, he said it would be better for the opportunity to be given to someone with a better vision for Selangor.
“I’ve done enough already. I think the damage done is very bad, let it be someone who is more capable than I am.
“The question of whether it is the old guard or new blood does not arise… The people of Selangor will judge whether the person can lead or not.”
Jailed for corruption
Khir had conceded he made mistakes during his administration that led to BN’s downfall in Selangor.
In 2015, he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for corruption though he was released on parole after serving six months of his jail term.
Khir once drew controversy in 2007 when he presented a broom to the Hulu Selangor District Council and the Hulu Selangor Land Office for failing to collect assessment tax beyond the 50 percent target.
The incident drew flak from various quarters, including the Union of Employees in the Public Service (Cuepacs), as the action was viewed as humiliation.
Asked about his confidence in BN’s ability to retake Sungai Besar, Khir pointed to BN’s recent resurgence in recent state elections.
“It is not really a takeover… The seat is held by Bersatu today and even the Bersatu candidate is previously from Umno. We just want to return the seat to Umno,” he said.
Now, Khir said the priority is to win back the Sungai Besar seat for BN.
The seat is currently held by Bersatu’s Muslimin Yahya, who narrowly defeated BN’s Budiman Mohd Zohdi at the 2018 general election with a majority of 714 votes.
Khir said he often goes on the ground to conduct various activities in the villages around Sungai Besar, even though it goes unreported in the media.
When asked whether he would like a second chance to be Selangor menteri besar, he said it would be better for the opportunity to be given to someone with a better vision for Selangor.
“I’ve done enough already. I think the damage done is very bad, let it be someone who is more capable than I am.
“The question of whether it is the old guard or new blood does not arise… The people of Selangor will judge whether the person can lead or not.”
Jailed for corruption
Khir had conceded he made mistakes during his administration that led to BN’s downfall in Selangor.
In 2015, he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for corruption though he was released on parole after serving six months of his jail term.
Khir once drew controversy in 2007 when he presented a broom to the Hulu Selangor District Council and the Hulu Selangor Land Office for failing to collect assessment tax beyond the 50 percent target.
The incident drew flak from various quarters, including the Union of Employees in the Public Service (Cuepacs), as the action was viewed as humiliation.
Asked about his confidence in BN’s ability to retake Sungai Besar, Khir pointed to BN’s recent resurgence in recent state elections.
“It is not really a takeover… The seat is held by Bersatu today and even the Bersatu candidate is previously from Umno. We just want to return the seat to Umno,” he said.
Moreover, after several changes of government since the 14th general election, Khir contended that people are ready to return to BN.
“People have seen what can be done by the government, and I’ve seen many condemn Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional’s failures. With the situation we’re going through today, people seem to be getting back to BN.
“Although I don’t think it is a huge group, there is a percentage of people who are returning to BN, and it can’t be denied there is increased support for BN at by-elections and in the Sabah, Malacca, and Johor state elections,” he said.
Nevertheless, with the current unstable and fragile political environment, Khir said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration appeared hesitant to implement major changes.
Therefore, he said BN needs to find ways to win more seats than other parties to strengthen the government.
“That’s why we need to tell people to give their mandate to a single party, so even if it doesn’t form the government, it is a large party with many MPs who could stabilise the government.
“If you build a house, you must have a main pillar (tiang seri) so everyone can rely on its strength.
“If little-by-little with too many captains on one ship, that becomes a problem,” he said while conceding it would be difficult for BN to win a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
After the BN-led federal government collapsed following the 14th general election, 17 Umno MPs switched sides. Most of them defected to the Umno splinter party Bersatu which was then led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In 2020, Umno returned to government by pledging support to Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, who led Bersatu out of Harapan, as the new prime minister.
Over a year later in August 2021, Umno retook the premiership through its party vice-president Ismail Sabri after Umno MPs withdrew support for Muhyiddin causing him to lose majority in Parliament.
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