KUALA LUMPUR — Perikatan Nasional (PN) would only need a fifth of the non-Malay vote to win the Negeri Sembilan and Selangor state elections that were among six due this year, said Senator Datuk Razali Idris.
The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) information chief told Malay Mail the momentum from last year’s general election left his coalition poised to perform well in the two states as well as Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, and Terengganu.
“We only need 20 per cent from the total population of non-Malay voters and we can form a strong majority in both Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.
“We also expect that we will do well in Penang,” Razali claimed during his visit to Malay Mail.
While acknowledging PH and especially DAP’s appeal with non-Malay voters, Razali said the Bersatu associate wing and PN component Gerakan already have strategies laid out to try and convert the group.
Razali said the unlikely alliance between DAP and Umno in the national unity government, after decades of enmity, was unlikely to have convinced either party’s core supporters and could be leveraged against PH.
The state elections will be the first major test for the former political rivals that forged their alliance to thwart PN from claiming victory in the 14th general election.
The Bersatu leader also cited the youth vote that went firmly in PN’s direction last year, bucking expectations that lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 would lead to a groundswell of support for PH.
“But we know that this government is trying so hard to block voices or youth on TikTok and other social media that seem to be leaning towards PN,” he said.
According to Razali, PN could concentrate its campaign resources on penetrating the PH states as the coalition was already confident of retaining Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu.
In GE14, PN, particularly PAS, went from a dark horse to a formidable side after taking 49 federal seats in clean sweeps of Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, and within one seat of doing so in Kedah.
The coalition’s 74 lawmakers were now in the Opposition bench after rejecting the invitation to join Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s national unity government.
Still, Razali conceded that PN’s chances depended on its ability to get out the vote for the state elections so soon after GE14, saying that low turnouts typically benefit the status quo.
PN would need a minimum turnout of 70 per cent in order to have a chance of pulling off the upsets in the PH states, he said.
“Because we can see that in the previous state elections prior to the general elections, the voters went for either PH or Barisan Nasional as the voter turnout was considerably low,” he added.
In November 2021, the turnout for the Melaka state election — which BN won with a supermajority — was 66 per cent; the Johor state election five months later, which BN also won easily, saw just 55 per cent of registered voters showing up on election day. mm
PN MP asks govt to justify ‘recognising’ citizens regardless of ‘skin colour’
Maran MP Ismail Abd Muttalib has questioned the government’s rationale for “recognising” citizens born after Malaysia’s independence regardless of “skin colour”.
This was part of the Perikatan Nasional lawmaker’s written parliamentary questions directed at Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in the last session.
“Is it true the government intends to grant recognition to citizens born after independence without taking into account skin colour?
“If true, what is the rationale?” his question read.
He added that the granting of citizenship to non-citizen individuals is the “highest award” and the exclusive right of the federal government which is not offered and given lightly.
“Every citizenship application received is processed and examined accordingly based on the conditions and laws that apply without distinction of ancestry or the skin colour of the applicant,” Saifuddin said.
Communism in new villages?
In an earlier written parliamentary question dated Feb 15, 2023, Ismail (top picture) directed another bizarre question to the home minister on why new villages were still being maintained and whether communism still exists in those places.
“Why do the majority of new villages, which were initially formed to place groups involved in communism, still need to be maintained?
“Are there any communist ideas that still exist in these new villages and will the government suggest unifying these new villages under the same ministry?” his question read.
Saifuddin replied that new villages were established during the emergency era to handle the threat of the communist insurgents.
The idea behind this plan was to move Chinese villagers in scattered, isolated settlements in the forest outskirts into new villages in order to prevent communist insurgents from threatening or receiving logistical help or information from them.
“The Chinese villagers who were moved to new villages during the emergency era are mostly victims of communist insurgents and they are not former communists or communist supporters till now.
“Those who were moved and placed in these new villages, specifically Chinese villagers are victims of communist insurgents. As such, they also hate the oppressive and violent communist fight even though it is towards their own Chinese community,” Saifuddin said.
Azan ‘ban’
Meanwhile, in a separate question Ismail submitted to Parliament, the PAS parliamentarian also asked why a “state government” had issued a banning order to all mosques in the state to lower the volume of the call for prayers (azan).
“What is the real cause behind a state government in this country issuing a banning order to all mosques in the relevant state to lower the volume for the call to prayers when it is time for the five daily prayers?” the question read.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) responded simply that there has been no such order in any state thus far.
While Ismail did not mention which state he was referring to, misinformation over a supposed mosque loudspeaker ban for the call to prayers in Penang has been festering since at least 2011.
This false information has been brought up repeatedly over the years to attack the DAP-led state administration despite multiple clarifications.
The ban is on the use of loudspeakers for the recital of verses from the Quran before dawn prayers and not on the call to prayers itself.
Then Penang mufti Hassan Ahmad had clarified that the decision to ban the use of loudspeakers for the recital of verses from the Quran before dawn prayers was made by the state fatwa council, which received no pressure from any quarter including from the state government over the matter.
“The decision is not a fatwa but advice based on Islamic law to be used as a guide and clarification from an Islamic point of view for all Muslims in the state to follow and obey,” Hassan had said.
Then PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also agreed with the decision by the Penang fatwa council.
He said using a loudspeaker to recite the Quran in a mosque before the call to morning prayers would disturb people who are sleeping or are sick and that Muslims should be sensitive and considerate.
PAS Youth and Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin have also since expressed their support for the prohibition.
Ismail was formerly an Umno lawmaker who was dropped from candidacy in the 15th general election (GE15). He was the deputy minister of housing and local government under the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration.
After being sidelined by Umno in GE15, he then joined PAS and contested in Maran in the election. mkini
MALAY MAIL / MKINI
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