Ku Li: Large crowd no reflection of opposition support

GE14 | Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the presence of large crowds of people listening to the opposition pact’s talks did not necessarily mean they support the party in the 14th General Election (GE14) on May 9.

Instead, they want to listen to the issues raised by the opposition speakers and this happens in every general election, he said after a friendly gathering with members of the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) and the families of veterans of the Malaysian Armed Forces at Dewan Bukit Chekati here yesterday.

Taking a lesson from Parti Semangat 46 (S46) during the 1990 General Election many people came to listen to the talks but eventually BN was the one which won and formed the government, said Tengku Razaleigh, who founded S46 but later rejoined Umno.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is is defending the Gua Musang parliamentary seat for Barisan Nasional in GE14, said this when responding to the comments gone viral on social media (Facebook) on the presence of the public listening to the opposition pact’s talks of late.

Meanwhile, he said the absence of the late former PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat had severely impacted the PAS struggle leading to a split among party members in facing the GE14.

 PAS seemed as if it was losing strength to defend Kelantan, the state the party had governed for over 28 years, said Tengku Razaleigh

Speaking to reporters after the ‘Semarak Kasih Seraut Sayang’ ceremony with settlers in the South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) Chalil Land Development Scheme (RKT) here last night, he said the BN was ready to provide employment opportunities to the people so that they would no longer have to migrate to other states looking for jobs.

“They have complained to me and other leaders, that they want to work in the state itself, and I hope they make the change by supporting the BN candidates in this General Election," he said.

Tengku Razaleigh said they needed to think positively because the BN manifesto also gave priority to upgrading water supply facilities in Kelantan which PAS had failed to do so all this while.

- Bernama