GST OR HUDUD? Rompin Chinese in turmoil over who to reject first - Umno or Pas

ROMPIN - There are only a few hours to go before the by-election for Rompin’s new Member of Parliament begins but the Chinese voters here are still torn over which candidate to vote for.

The one who is representing the party that supports the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), or the one representing Hudud.

The Rakyat Post’s observation on the last day before the polling begins at 8am tomorrow found that Chinese voters here mostly preferred to have Barisan Nasional’s candidate Datuk Hasan Arifin as their new representative in Parliament.

However, some are worried that their support would seem like they have accepted the newly implemented GST.

Lee Chin Weon, 28, said that it was easier in the past before PAS was adamant on implementing hudud.

This, he said, was because if they were not happy with the ruling government, they could show it by voting for the candidate from another party.

“Now, we have to choose between hudud and GST. Neither is appealing although BN is smart to choose a candidate who is liked by everyone here.”

Mian Xiang Fong, 42, said he had still to decide on which party to vote tomorrow, but noted that BN was shaken up by the recent public uproar over matters such as GST.

“Rompin is BN’s stronghold. By right they shouldn’t be worried about winning but from the list of big names that have came down to campaign for the party’s candidate, including (Youth and Sports Minister) Khairy Jamaluddin, (Home Minister) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and even the deputy Prime Minister himself, shows that BN is not really that confident.”

Ang Hu Seng, 61, on the other hand said that had PAS been more understanding of the Chinese objections against hudud, the Islamist based party would have received more support and hence, stood a chance at reducing its opponent’s majority vote.

“We’ll just see the result tomorrow. Whatever it is, I hope the new MP will take into serious consideration the wants and the needs of Rompin people.”

The Rompin parliamentary seat has been a BN stronghold for over 20 years. The seat was left vacant after its incumbent, Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis, was killed in a tragic helicopter crash on April 4.

Its by-election will take place tomorrow morning and will see a straight fight between PAS candidate Nazri Ahmad and BN’s Hasan. - Therakyatpost