Pakatan Mocks Pas For Supporting Chinese

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(MMO) – PAS should support Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for Tanjung Piai since he is the only Muslim contesting so far, several coalition leaders said pointedly today.
Reminding the Islamist party of its previous insistence that voters should back candidates based on their religion first, they pointed out that Barisan Nasional will field MCA’s Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng for the poll.
Among those who made this suggestion were PH secretariat chief Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who later clarified that he was only needling PAS.
“Haha, but that is not really what I want la, I want the more open democracy,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
Local Umno leaders and members were noticeably absent during the ceremony to announce Wee’s candidacy in Pontian yesterday.
Malay Mail earlier reported that the local Umno were upset that the spot would remain with MCA.
This morning, PAS released statements expressing support for Wee based its cooperation with Umno.
Saifuddin said a candidate’s ethnicity should not matter in multiracial Malaysia.
“Malaysia as a diverse country, there will be candidates from different races. For PH we put a Malay candidate here because we have candidates from different races elsewhere.
“But there are parties, whether they contest or friend of those who contest had used the candidates race issue in the past,” he said.
Separately, Amanah vice president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said PAS’s declaration this morning demonstrated stupidity.
“The first act of stupidity is towards their members and all Malaysian after they released the new statement even though in Cameron Highlands by-election before they said it is compulsory for Muslim to vote for Muslim candidate when they are challenged by non-Muslim candidate.
“The second act of stupidity is towards the prime minister as it could destabilise his position even when PAS have pledge their supported to him,” he said.
PH will field Datuk Karmainie Sardini, 66, from Bersatu.
Wee is a two-time Tanjung Piai MP but failed to retain his seat in last year’s general election, losing by just 524 votes to the incumbent, the late Dr Mohd Farid Mohd Rafik.
The by-election was triggered by Farid’s death from a heart attack on September 21.
Gerakan, who left BN last year, has nominated deputy secretary-general Wendy Subramaniam for the race.
Nomination day is this Saturday with November 16 set as polling day.
 

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