KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — DAP’s Liew Chin Tong has urged Tanjung Piai voters to choose Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the polls tomorrow to show their rejection of politicians who are stoking ethnic flares.
The deputy defence minister said a vote Barisan Nasional (BN) would be an endorsement of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s alleged corruption and racialised views, which he said would be a step backward for the country.
“I hope voters in the Tanjung Piai by-election will see through all these and choose Pakatan Harapan to stabilise the situation, and to fight against those are stoking racial fires.
“Reforms must continue, and we shouldn’t give up easily despite the racial attacks,” he told the crowd in Pontian. His speech text was made available to the media.
Earlier today, PH’s Secretary council slammed Najib for questioning Lim Guan Eng’s ethnicity, pointing out that the measure of a good finance minister is on his integrity, trustworthiness, and the ability to manage the nation’s coffer.
Najib had in a rally for the Tanjung Piai by-election last night reportedly questioned PH’s decision to put Lim as the finance minister, claiming the decision does not have the Malay community’s interest at heart.
Despite that, Liew also predicted a tough fight for PH, with the victor probably garning around 500 votes in majority.
This comes as the Johor DAP chairman said he has observed that Malay support is set to rise for PH but the opposite for the ethnic Chinese.
He said the former may be due voters’ satisfaction with Putrajaya, and their continued unhappiness with Najib amid his many graft trials.
For the latter, Liew said the Chinese community may be unhappy with the ruling coalition, while outstation voters may not return home to vote.
“Meanwhile, Berjasa which now controlled by Islamist nationalist Isma or Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia may take some votes away from Barisan Nasional while some Pakatan Harapan voters in GE14 may switch to Gerakan.
“Votes for these smaller parties will also have an impact on the final outcome,” he said.
