KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — The Semenyih by-election result will indicate to politicians if "lies and fake news” were effective in gaining support, said DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

The Iskandar Puteri asserted that a record-number of "lies” have been told in the campaign for the March 2 by-election.

"The Semenyih by-election on Saturday will be a crucial test whether Malaysian politics and public affairs are to take the high ground to promote national unity, understanding and harmony to leverage on the best qualities of the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures in the country to make them assets to transform Malaysia into a world top-class nation or regress to a very toxic and vicious brew of lies and fake news to incite suspicion, distrust, hate and fear among the different races and religions in the country, turn our diversity into liabilities and lock Malaysia into the trajectory hurtling towards a failed state,” he said in a statement today.

Among "lies” he listed was that a no-confidence vote was being planned against the prime minister and that Lim’s DAP controlled the federal government.

The four-way contest in the Semenyih by-election will see Pakatan Harapan's Muhammad Aiman Zainali take on Barisan Nasional's Zakaria Hanafi, PSM's Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul and independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng.

The by-election was called following the death of PH incumbent Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on January 11.