BN plumbs for moderate campaign in Galas, no rabble-rousing

GUA MUSANG - A moderate, friendly and personalised campaign can be expected from the Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery for the Galas by-election.

Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said despite the movement's large machinery, it would not engage in a "gerak gempur" (to go on the offensive) type of campaign like in previous by-elections, but would instead have a proper campaign.

"I hope there won't be any groups resorting to violence; we don't want to imitate the opposition's campaign, which can at times be aggressive. We will conduct friendly campaigns to win over women voters in Galas," she said when met after the Galas by-election nomination at the Gua Musang District and Land Office, on Tuesday.

She described BN candidate Abdul Aziz Yusof, 49, as the candidate with the best chance to win the election.

Umno secretary general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said BN would use the Galas by-election as an arena to fight for welfare of the Kelantanese.

He said their approach would be different to that of PAS, which regarded the nomination process as a festival.

"We know that when there's an election, their (PAS) people from all over the country will come and turn this into a festival. In comparison, we see this as a chance for us to take care of the people and the people know which side to choose and which one to reject," he said.

MCA vice-president Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said a down-to-earth approach would be taken by the MCA machinery to garner the support of Chinese voters, often regarded as fence-sitters.

She said the party had identified 970 fence-sitters from a total of 2,317 Chinese voters in Galas, and that the MCA would intensify efforts to win them over.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the Youth movement would not adopt an aggressive campaign like their PAS counterparts but instead carry out a moderate and personal approach by meeting voters individually.

Galas has 1,500 young voters and Khairy said the movement planned to reach out to them during the 10-day campaigning period.

Meanwhile, Puteri chief Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said the movement's machinery had made early preparations to face the Galas by-election and would intensify efforts to win the support of women aged below 40.

"We practice a one-on-one system and visit each voter at home. Through this system, we will be able to explain about the BN's capabilities and we see that initial support is already ours," she said.

MIC vice-president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the Indian community in Galas regretted voting for PAS because they had yet to see any development and that their welfare had not being taken care of.

"The number of Indian voters is small and we have opportunities to meet with them directly, which makes me confident the 186 voters will choose BN," he added.

-- BERNAMA