WHO IS BAD IN MATH? HADI OR MUHYIDDIN OR ARE BOTH ONLY GOOD AT COUNTING MONEY? – AHMAD MASLAN SQUEEZES PN DUO BY THE ACHILLES HEEL EVEN AS COPS PROBE HADI OVER LATEST BARRAGE OF CAMPAIGN LIES & MAT SABU GETS READY TO RETURN FIRE – ‘MALAYSIA HAS 14 STATES. THEY (PN) ONLY GOVERN FOUR. WE HAVE 10. DON’T THEY KNOW MATHEMATICS? TEN (STATES) IS WAY MORE THAN FOUR’
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has claimed that a strong showing by Perikatan Nasional in the upcoming Pulai by-election could trigger a change in the federal government.
It should be noted that PN members made similar claims in the run-up to the six state polls held earlier this month.
“There are those who claim that this Pulai by-election is just an ordinary by-election.
“It actually has a significant meaning as the winning MP will speak on our behalf in Parliament.
“PN has a significant number of seats in Parliament. The government can change at any time,” Hadi told reporters at the PAS Pulai headquarters last night.
“We need the extra seat in Pulai and a few others, so we have to be patient,” he added.
Hadi went on to express hope that Umno would change its mind and “repent”.
On Aug 7, Hadi claimed that a win for PN in the six state elections would pave the way for a change in the federal government. However, the claim did not materialise.
‘Rakyat’s Wave nonsense’
Yesterday, Johor Umno deputy chief Ahmad Maslan poured cold water on PN’s claim of a “Rakyat’s Wave”, calling it nonsense.
He said it was inaccurate to describe that the whole nation was in support of the said “wave” when PN is only in control of four states – Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
“This is not the ‘Rakyat’s Wave’. How can it be called the ‘Rakyat Wave’?
“Malaysia has 14 states. They (PN) only govern four. We have 10. Don’t they know mathematics? Ten (states) is way more than four.
“The people here don’t want Pulai to fall in the hands of the opposition. Pulai was already governed by the government coalition. Why do we want it to be opposition all of a sudden? Same goes for Simpang Jeram,” Ahmad added.
Three-cornered contest
The federal government which comprises parties from Pakatan Harapan, BN, GPS and GRS, has a significant majority in Parliament, while PN occupies 73 of the 222 Dewan Rakyat seats.
The Simpang Jeram and Pulai by-elections are being called due to the unexpected vacancy in the two seats following the death of domestic trade and cost of living minister Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.
There will be a three-way clash for the Simpang Jeram state seat, between Harapan candidate Nazri Abdul Rahman, PN’s Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, and independent S Jeganathan.
In Pulai, Harapan’s Suhaizan Kaiat will face PN’s Zulkifli Jaafar and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi. MKINI
Bukit Aman probing Hadi over latest campaign speech
His political secretary, Syahir Sulaiman, said Hadi was ready to assist the police after they contacted him this morning to obtain information.
This came after a police report was lodged over Hadi’s speech during the election campaign in Simpang Jeram, Johor.
“Hadi has already been informed of this matter, and he expressed his willingness to give full cooperation to Bukit Aman.
“Even before this, he had already given evidence to Bukit Aman, including handing over the mobile phone belonging to the operator of his official Facebook account (press secretary) to Bukit Aman and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, to help with the investigation,” Syahir said in a statement today.
On Saturday, Hadi claimed in a ceramah that a few members and former party leaders left PAS and established Amanah because they were afraid of losing an election.
The Marang MP also described those who left PAS to join Amanah as being “faint-hearted” for leaving the Islamist party’s struggle.
Following this, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu said he will rebut Hadi’s “lies” tonight.
Hadi also claimed that DAP’s alleged refusal to accept hudud law motivated PAS to initiate attempts to change the government during Pakatan Harapan’s first stint in federal power after the 14th general election in 2018.
Syahir said the PAS president has full faith in the professionalism of the police and the MCMC in carrying out their duties and investigations. MKINI
Mat Sabu promises to counter Hadi’s ‘lies’ tonight
This came after Hadi claimed that a few members and former party leaders left PAS and established Amanah because they were afraid of losing an election.
“Yesterday, the PAS president ‘shot’ saying they left Pakatan Rakyat because DAP rejected hudud. I will not answer tonight, I will answer tomorrow night (Monday) in Simpang Jeram.
“I will answer tomorrow night how the PAS president lied to the people. I will answer those lies one by one.
“I am not a small person, I am the former deputy president of PAS. Don’t lie to the people,” Mohamad was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.
He was speaking at the Pulai Unity Talk in Nusa Bestari, Johor Bahru, last night.
On Saturday, Hadi also described those who left PAS to join Amanah as being “faint-hearted” for leaving the Islamist party’s struggle.
He added that DAP’s alleged refusal to accept hudud law motivated PAS to initiate attempts to change the government, during Pakatan Harapan’s first stint in federal power after the 14th general election in 2018.
After GE14, apart from Mohamad, several former senior PAS leaders in Amanah such as Salahuddin Ayub, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, and Khalid Samad were appointed as ministers.
‘Using religious issues’
Mohamad said PAS and Perikatan Nasional are willing to use Islam for their own benefit.
“For example, in Selangor, during the last state election, their campaign used the issue of religious schools and tahfiz being ordered to close. That issue made Malay voters trust them.
“However, the Selangor sultan ordered at that time that all religious schools that do not follow the rules and standards must be closed because they can create problems and they need to reform if they want to operate again.
“That issue caused PAS and PN to get temporary support. I am sure their lies cannot last for the next four years,” the Kota Raja MP said.
“The people will see this change. I am sure the people are not stupid and will support the unity government again,” Mohamad added.
The Simpang Jeram and Pulai by-elections are being held on Sept 9 due to the unexpected vacancy of the two seats following the death of domestic trade and cost of living minister Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.
There will be a three-way clash for the Simpang Jeram state seat, between Harapan candidate Nazri Abdul Rahman, PN’s Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, and independent S Jeganathan.
In Pulai, Harapan’s Suhaizan Kaiat will face PN’s Zulkifli Jaafar and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.
During GE15, Salahuddin won in Pulai with a majority of 33,174 votes, polling 64,900 votes, ahead of BN candidate Nur Jazlan Mohamed (31,726 votes) and PN candidate Loh Kah Yong (20,677).
Salahuddin also defended his Simpang Jeram seat in the Johor state election in March last year by polling 8,749 votes against PN’s Zarul Salleh (6,350 votes), BN’s Lokman Md Don (6,062) and Pejuang’s Mahaizal Mahmor (208).
Based on the Election Commission’s statistics, there are 166,653 registered voters in Pulai: 165,799 ordinary voters, 927 police personnel and spouses, and 26 overseas postal voters.
Simpang Jeram has 40,379 registered voters: 40,373 ordinary voters, and six overseas postal voters. MKINI
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