THE Prime Minister’s political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin has been slammed for insinuating that he could have won the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat if he had demanded a recount during GE15.

Umno information chief Azalina Othman Said said the claim was irresponsible as he is an experienced politician who should know about preserving the integrity of the country’s democratic process.

“He should be magnanimous in defeat or raised his objections with the Election Commission (then),” said Azalina in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 15).

Shamsul Iskandar, the senior political secretary of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, claimed when interviewed in the Apa Cerita podcast that he wanted to challenge the results but Anwar persuaded him not to as Barisan Nasional had agreed to form a unity government with Pakatan Harapan.

“I believe that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is Bagan Datuk MP, has full confidence in the democratic process and was prepared to accept the decision of the voters,” said Azalina.

“Shamsul Iskandar should refrain from making statements that can cast aspersions on the country’s democratic process.

Zahid’s daughter, Nurulhidayah, who is a Wanita Umno exco member, had earlier criticised Shamsul Iskandar’s claim.