Winning Rantau crucial to show Pakatan accountable to people, Umno Youth chief says

SHAH ALAM, April 2 — Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said today winning the Rantau by-election is of utmost importance for the Opposition to show that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government is accountable to the people.

Describing the possible victory as a “hat-trick” for the Opposition, Asyraf Wajdi said the by-election victory will also serve as a morale booster.

“Like the previous by-elections in Cameron Highlands and Semenyih, winning Rantau will send a people’s signal that the government cannot dwell on their sentiments and resign the people to their fates.

“The people need to be taken care of. Look at the cost of living,” he told reporters after attending a Sinar Harian forum here.

He said the people needed a government that acted like a government, not one that blamed the previous administration after coming into power for ten months as if they were unable to move on.

Umno’s deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, also known as ‘Tok Mat’, is contesting the state seat alongside PH’s candidate Dr S. Streram and two independent candidates.

Asked on the party’s reception on the ground following three days of campaigning so far, Asyraf Wajdi said Barisan Nasional was well-received among the voters, especially ethnic Indians.

“When we conduct our door-to-door meets, we discovered that many Indian constituents revealed to us their gratitude to ‘Tok Mat’ for helping them in the past.

“Sometimes we don’t even need to bring pamphlets as Tok Mat’s contribution is more than enough to show why the people needs to select him as their representative,” he said.

The by-election has been necessitated by the Federal Court dismissal of an appeal filed by Mohamad to set aside the November 16 Seremban Election Court decision declaring his unopposed victory in the 14th general election (GE14) null and void.