Are the Chinese to blame for your Umno VP defeat? - Teresa wants Ali Rustam to surrender Senatorship

Former Malacca chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam should resign his senatorship as he has been rejected not only by Chinese voters but also by Umno members, said Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.

Kok noted that Mohd Ali only got seven votes in the vice-presidential election last weekend, including one from his home state of Malacca.

"Since both Bukit Katil voters and Umno Malacca members have been clear and decisive in rejecting Mohd Ali, he should have some sense of honour by resigning his senatorship instead of lamely attempting to cling on," said, referring to Mohd Ali's defeat in his parliamentary seat of Bukit Katil last May.

In the 13th general election, Mohd Ali lost by a huge 5,447 majority to Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin. Bukit Katil is a Malay-majority area, with 99,438 voters.

"The pertinent point to note here is that he only obtained a single vote from Malacca, which was from his Bukit Katil division," Kok added.

She recalled Mohd Ali's statement soon after losing his Bukit Katil parliamentary seat, in which he said voters especially the Chinese did not appreciate his good deeds over the past 13 years.

In the days leading to the Umno election, Mohd Ali, who is also chairman of Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB), played the race card, prompting some to remark whether he was gunning for a top position in Malay right-wing group Perkasa.

Mohd Ali claimed that the Chinese community were prospering in the business sector because they were involved in various illegal industries such as gaming, lottery, massage parlours and illegal moneylending.

According to him, Malays could not dabble in these non-halal industries. He also said that PUNB's task was to ensure the whole chain of businesses, from suppliers to retailers, was at the hands of the Malays.

"Now that Mohd Ali has been dealt such a humiliating defeat in the Umno general polls, who should he point the finger at?

"Should it be at ungrateful Umno members who do not remember everything that he has done for them over the past decade?" asked Kok, who is the DAP vice-chair.

TMI