YOURSAY | ‘Najib, character matters more than a made-in-Slim candidate’

YOURSAY | ‘What’s wrong with choosing a non-local candidate with a clean record and untainted reputation?’

Only a local candidate can help Slim people, Najib tells voters

SRMan: I beg to differ with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on his call for people to choose a candidate hailing from their constituency.

Whether the candidates are locals or outsiders, that is not really important. What is more pressing is that elected representatives must have the welfare of the electorate at heart.

The other day, residents staying near the Trolak river (which is within the Slim constituency) complained of massive floods over the past 50 years or so. The former four-term state assemblyperson was a local.

If only locals can solve local problems, then what about the previous BN MPs in the Tanjong Malim parliamentary constituency (in which Slim is one of three state seats) and others, who hailed from elsewhere? A check on Wikipedia reveals that since the general elections in 1974, all the MPs were not locals.

So, does this mean they have all not done a good job for their constituents?

PurpleMouse8188: If the MP or state assemblyperson from your constituency drives around in his Mercedes to tell you that you have to wait another 40 years to get fresh water supply, will you vote for him as your representative?

Words from a convicted leader who allegedly plundered billions from our coffers should not be accepted at all.

In fact, voters from Slim need to be extra careful to ensure the candidate they are picking has not been contaminated by this group of dishonest leaders.

Clever Voter: What use to the local constituency if the elected representative does not even have the basic decency of honesty, is bias, and does not put the people’s interest above his own?

Najib was the nation's PM; who is he to talk about serving the locals’ needs, especially after he was convicted of mismanaging the country’s money?

He can’t be serious over this now that everyone knows he allegedly used taxpayers’ money for himself and continues to deny that he had anything to do with the missing billions.

The Endgames: “An independent candidate will only receive his allowance if he wins, but he cannot do anything for you. The one who can is the government of the day,” Najib said.

What the former premier didn’t say is that the one in government can jump like a frog and hijack your votes while gaining lots of money in the process.

Undecided: It is not whether he is local that is of importance.

If his character and behaviour are the same as someone like Bossku and he is someone who is rooting for the former premier, it would be disastrous for the people for them to pick him.

2020: This is so weird to say only a local candidate should be chosen for Slim is like saying only the Malays can take care of Malays.

Yet after 60 years of governing, how far have the Malays gone? So many policies and opportunities were given but in reality, the rich and elite Malays got richer while the poor Malays in many states are still poor.

OrangePanther1466: So long as Umno allows a convict to continue speaking and acting as if he is still their leader, the party can never move on.

Umno will be seen as a party that protects the convicted and corrupt and no longer championing the Malays. I am not Malay but I think the race deserves better.

Heron: There are those who will not be surprised that Najib, despite having a soiled reputation, is still emboldened to campaign for a candidate from BN in an official by-election.

There are many who will be agnostic regarding moral pointers that a recently convicted former PM (pending appeal) can still command an invitation to speak and attract a gathering of supporters to listen to his speech.

There are those few who will be left wandering in bewilderment at the state of such sophistication of our politics after some five decades of BN’s dominance. ‘Apa Malu Bossku’ does mean something then.

Mosquitobrain: A convicted former PM is asking the people in Slim to lend their support to a party run by a host of politicians facing criminal trials.

Najib, what’s wrong with choosing a non-local candidate with a clean record and untainted reputation?

155729: Najib is barking up the wrong tree. People of Slim deserve a true leader, not somebody coming from a party with politicians who have been convicted of stealing from the rakyat.

ScarletHamster1885: All this while, Slim had been governed under the same regime and what did the people get from that?

You can’t compare the results with the potential changes Pakatan Harapan could have delivered given that the coalition’s five-year term in office was cut short by the current administration which we did not vote for.

Hang Babeuf: Umno can "help the Slim people"? Fat chance! - Mkini