Musa Aman warns of ‘chaos’ from voting opposition

KOTA KINABALU, April 12 ― Sabah caretaker chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman cautioned Malaysians yesterday against voting for the opposition in Election 2013, accusing them of sparking “chaos” through previous Bersih rallies for fair polls.

“Don’t try to experiment,” Musa (picture) told a thousand-strong cheering crowd at the launch of the Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery at the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) Unity Hall in Penampang here last night.

“What can you hope for in the opposition? They talk about bad things, create trouble, chaos, Bersih 1, Bersih 2, for what?” he added.

Three mass demonstrations for free and fair elections were organised under the Bersih banner: one each in 2007, 2011 and 2012.

The first protest was held just four months before the historic Election 2008 that saw BN lose its parliamentary supermajority and four states to the loose opposition pact of PAS, PKR and DAP, which later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Musa pointed out that BN, instead, had offered BR1M cash handouts to lower-income families twice, noting that the financial aid would be increased from RM500 to RM1,200, according to the coalition’s election manifesto.

“People ask me why Sabah is a Barisan Nasional stronghold. I say that Sabahans are clever and wise. They can differentiate between good and bad, wheat and rice, rocks and diamonds,” he said.

Musa added that Sabah was also a BN fortress because Sabahans were united, despite the Borneo state being multi-racial and multi-cultural.

Yesterday, Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan warned BN against frightening voters away from selecting the opposition in the 13th general election.

She noted that pro-BN billboards have been erected nationwide, many of which imply that Malaysia would turn chaotic should PR form the next government.

The opposition in Sabah won only the Kota Kinabalu federal seat and the Sri Tanjong state seat in Election 2008, with the DAP taking both seats.

But it has increased efforts to make inroads into the so-called BN “fixed deposit”, as part of its larger aim of winning Election 2013.