PONTIAN, Nov 2 — Barisan Nasional (BN) has expressed its confidence in dealing with a six-cornered contest, including from two independent candidates, in the coming Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election.
MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said BN’s spirit of unity and its inclusiveness would assist the coalition to face challenges during the by-election.
“All voters, regardless if they are Malay, Chinese or Indian, are important to BN and we will work hard to ensure that we get their support,” he said during a media conference held after the Tanjung Piai Nomination Day at the BN Command Centre here.
Wee urged voters in the Tanjung Piai constituency to use the coming by-election to send a signal to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ruling government on their failure to fulfil the coalition’s manifesto promises.
“It has been 18 months since PH became the government and they have also failed to address the cost of living in the country, as well as the decreasing palm oil prices, which is affecting many of the people,” he said.
We said that it was important to have an elected representative which is able to play its role as a check and balance against the government to make sure they keep their promises.
Meanwhile, Johor BN chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said that Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng’s candidacy ticked all the boxes in meeting expectations.
“I believed that among all the candidates contesting in the by-election, only Jeck Seng will get full marks as he is a local with a good background with a proven track record.
“He is also very popular with the local community,” said Hasni, adding that BN’s machinery would double its effort to help Jeck Seng win back the parliamentary.
Jeck Seng will be challenging PH candidate Karmaine Sardini, Gerakan’s Wendy Subramaniam, Berjasa’s Datuk Badrulhisham Abdul Aziz, with two independent candidates Ang Chuan Lock and Faridah Aryani Abd Ghaffar in the parliamentary by-election.
The Tanjung Piai constituency is a Malay-majority seat and has 52,978 voters, including 280 early voters. Malays comprise 57 per cent of the voters while Chinese comprise 41.4 per cent with the remaining made up of Indian voters.
Polling is scheduled for November 16.
