CAMERON POLLS | DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Pakatan Harapan is shaken by BN's selection of its candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election, which is why Harapan has to be even more thorough with its campaigning.
"We are shaken. That is why we have to come down to give our help to the candidate.
"Of course, we hope our preparations can be optimised, but for now this is already moving as well as possible.
"We will try to improve and mobilise more intensively," Lim told reporters after launching the DAP by-election operations centre in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, last night.
BN yesterday announced former Penang Commercial Crime Department chief Ramli Mohd Nor, who is from the Semai tribe in Cameron Highlands, as the BN direct candidate for the by-election.
The Cameron Highlands parliamentary constituency comprises 22 percent Orang Asli voters, and Umno acting president Mohamad Hassan is confident they will all fully support Ramli.
Lim admitted that Ramli (photo) is a "very strong candidate" but he said the by-lection was not just about the candidate but the party as well.
"They have a strong candidate but the party that he represents is not a party that can even save itself. So, how can they help the people?" the finance minister said.
He said for this campaign, all in the top leadership of Harapan would come down to the ground.
The leaders include Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, as well as Harapan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and the coalition's chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Lim added.
Harapan's candidate for Cameron Highlands is DAP member M Manogaran, who had previously contested in the same seat, twice.
PAS will support the BN candidate
Disputed MyPPP president M Kayveas has also announced he will contest in this by-election.
PAS and PSM have said that they would sit it out.
PAS later declared that it would support BN's candidate in the Cameron Highlands by-election.
The seat was won in the 14th general election by BN candidate C Sivarraajh of the MIC, with a slim 597-vote majority.
However, the seat was declared vacant by the Election Court in November last year, after it was determined that corrupt practices led to BN's win.
Although MIC did not appeal the Election Court's declaration of the seat as vacant, Sivaraajh challenged the Election Commission's (EC) decision to disallow him from contesting there again and disallowing him from voting in any election for the next five years.
In its ruling yesterday, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed Sivarraajh’s challenge against the both the EC’s orders. - Mkini
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