Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin said any appearance by the former PM will only make the party more focused in its work.

“Whether or not he (Mahathir) comes to campaign, it will not change our direction.

“We do not look at who our opponent is and will only focus on our work,” he said during a press conference today.

Yesterday, former Batu Kawan Umno Vice-Chairman Khairuddin Abu Hassan said it had been confirmed that Mahathir would be campaigning against Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Sungai Besar parliamentary constituency.

In fact, previously, Mahathir himself had called on voters to reject BN in the constituency and also Kuala Kangsar next month.

The by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar will be held on June 18. They were called following the death of their MPs in a helicopter crash in Sarawak on May 5.

Khairy, who is youth and sports minister, said the Umno Youth machinery “will never dance to the tune of the Opposition” during the campaign period.

“I believe that if we focus on the work, we will be able to achieve victory. But as soon as we are obsessed with the opponent, it will bother us.”

He also promised that Umno Youth would not resort to “gangster tactics” during their campaigning.

Khairy said Umno would never feel comfortable with the possibility of a three-cornered fight which will split the Opposition vote.

“Our principle is to compete and win on our own strength, not because of the weakness of the opponent.”

So far, PAS and Pakatan Harapan have each been firm in their stance to field candidates in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, with PKR also wanting to field its own candidate.