SEMENYIH: Pakatan Harapan (PH) has ramped up its campaign activities ahead of next month’s Semenyih by-election.
Mindful that the Malay votes would be a deciding factor in the tussle for Semenyih, PH has underscored that Malay interests remain close to its heart, brushing aside accusations to the contrary.
Addressing the matter during a ceramah session in one of the traditional Malay villages here recently, PH vice-president and PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said that woes seen in Malay-centric bodies like Felda and Tabung Haji were not due to PH wrongdoings.
This, he pointed out, occurred under the previous Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, and that it was not PH which betrayed the Malays.
“You (previously) had power, had positions as chairmen, as ministers but you turned traitor to the Malays. Come on, the people of Semenyih, rise to reject Umno in the coming by-election,” Mohamed Azmin told the crowd.
Despite having nothing to do with the Felda fiasco, the former Selangor menteri besar said the PH government had taken steps to address problems faced by the land development agency and its mostly Malay settlers.
Engineer Muhammad Aiman Zainali, 30, of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), is carrying the PH flag in the four-way contest for Semenyih which was won by the government coalition in the 14th general election (GE14) in May 2018.
The other three aspirants are Zakaria Hanafi, 58, of BN, Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, 25, from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng, 56.
Mohamed Azmin vowed that Semenyih would continue to enjoy progress under PH, a constituency he described as successful in Selangor, one of the richest states in the country.
“In Selangor, we defended the principle of fairness for the people. The majority of us were the Malays; we took care of the Malays; we defended Islam.
“But, we also safeguarded the rights and interests of the Chinese and Indians as Malaysians and the people of Selangor,” the Economic Affairs Minister said in his campaign pitch.
The Malays make up some 68 per cent of the voters in the Semenyih semi-urban constituency.
Questions over the PH GE14 pledges and why some of them have yet to be met are also being played up by PH detractors out to deny it victory in Semenyih.
To this, PH deputy president and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said they would have to be fulfilled in stages when the state of the country’s economy improved.
He noted that the PH government inherited debts totalling over RM1 trillion after taking over the reins from BN, prompting the need to review what had been promised in the GE14 election manifesto.
“Insya-Allah (God willing), we will implement (the promises) when the suitable time comes, if not all at once, at least in stages when the economic situation improves,” Muhyiddin explained.
The former deputy prime minister noted that the government should be given time to carry out its vows, having been elected for a five-year term.
“You elected Pakatan Harapan not to work only for eight months … we choose a government for one term, meaning a maximum of five years, so there is much more time,” he said.
The Semenyih seat fell vacant following the death of assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor of PH on Jan 11. – Bernama
