In BN fortress, Amanah defends DAP against 'anti-Islam' charge

CAMERON POLLS | At a joint ceramah in the BN stronghold of Felda Sungai Koyan Sunday night, Umno and PAS leaders had described DAP as a threat to the Malays and Islam. 

Last night, Amanah leaders countered the allegation.

While the Umno and PAS ceramah at Sungai Koyan attracted a crowd of more than 1,000 people, Pakatan Harapan's audience, however, was less than 100.

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu attempted to convince some 30 villagers, who had gathered for his ceramah, that the accusation against DAP was nothing but slander.

"They (the opposition) go from house to house saying the same thing, because they having nothing (else) to talk about, other than race.

"That is the only weapon they have - that the Malays are being sidelined and the future of the race is under threat," he said.

Mohamad, who is also the defence minister, cited the increase in allocations for Islamic institutions and causes in Penang, after DAP wrestled the state from BN in 2008.

"And in the 2018 election, BN was left with only two seats in the state.

"In the future, we might see BN and its friends, including PAS, starting to become extinct," he added.

DAP and PAS go 'way back'

Some 10 minutes away, in a local Bersatu leader's home in Kampung Kuala Medang, Amanah Youth chief Muhammad Faiz Fadzil (photo) stressed that Muslims should unite to reject the "corrupt practices" of Umno as such acts were forbidden in Islam.

"Corruption was the cause of the Cameron Highlands by-election. The courts had determined that corruption had helped BN win," he told a group of about 50 people, many of whom were seated in the shadows and refused to be photographed. 

The scion of former PAS president Fadzil Mohd Noor explained that PAS' present stance against DAP was contradictory to the longstanding working relationship between the two parties.

"Who was it that began PAS' friendship with DAP? Ustaz Fadzil. The parties first became friends when we were part of Barisan Alternatif in 1998, when Anwar Ibrahim was sacked and jailed.

"But today, they (PAS) paint DAP as being against Islam," he pointed out.

"Do not be trapped in such religious sentiments, because if it was true that DAP was against Islam and oppressed Islam, I am sure Ustaz Fadzil would not have been friends with DAP," he added.

Meanwhile, Amanah vice-president Mahfuz Omar accused the opposition of hypocrisy with regard to their criticism of Harapan candidate M Manogaran for being an Indian when former BN MPs for Cameron Highlands had always been Indians. 

“What is more important is this by-election presents a good chance for Cameron Highlands voters, especially in Jelai, to be served by two governments.

“If Manogaran wins here, you will get two governments - the (BN) state government and Harapan at the federal level,” he added.

Polling for the by-election is this Saturday.

Besides Manogaran, BN's Ramli Mohd Nor and two independents - Sallehudin Ab Talib and Wong See Yee - are vying for the seat. - Mkini