IT is pointless to vote for Barisan Nasional or Umno, said Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as even its own leaders and members have lost faith in the party and are abandoning it.
Dr Mahathir said this as he stumped for PH on the last day of campaigning for the Cameron Highlands by-election tomorrow.
He told a crowd of mostly Orang Asli voters today that BN’s lynchpin party, Umno, was bleeding members and lawmakers after the coalition lost federal power in the 14th general election.
“Their party leaders themselves came to see me when they lost the election.
“The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar (now Umno acting president) Mohamad Hasan (and then Umno president Ahmad) Zahid Hamidi came to see me when they lost. They said they wanted to cooperate.
“I said, cooperate for what?” Dr Mahathir told a ceramah in Felda Sg Koyan 1, Jelai, today.
“Their members are leaving them in droves and want to join Pakatan Harapan. Umno members themselves no longer believe in the party.
“Umno is rejecting Umno. I am confident Umno has no future. So, what’s the point of voting for Umno?” Dr Mahathir, who is also prime minister, told the crowd.
Umno has been campaigning aggressively for BN among the Semai tribe in Jelai in the hopes that the community will remember the coalition’s contributions to them over the past 61 years.
BN is also fielding an Orang Asli candidate, Ramli Mohd Nor, against PH’s M. Manogaran. Also in the contest are two independents.
A day before poll, videos emerge of Orang Asli complaining to BN about Pakatan
VIDEOS have emerged showing the Orang Asli offended by a Pakatan Harapan t-shirt bearing a caricature of an indigenous person, on the eve of the Cameron Highlands poll.
One video, purportedly recorded yesterday in Pos Telanok, depicts two Orang Asli men saying the t-shirt is an insult to their people.
One man is seen complaining to Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri about the Orang Asli caricature with a blowpipe under the PH logo.
“They are contesting but they use our symbols on their shirt,” said the Orang Asli, who is surrounded by Barisan Nasional campaign workers.
“They are insulting us,” he added.
He said the tok batin (village heads) should meet to discuss the issue.
Another man said PH should not have used the Orang Asli as a symbol as the people are not a political party.
“I’m unhappy about this,” he said, while holding up the t-shirt.
A second clip shows one of the men in the first video responding to what sound like leading questions from a man off-camera.
The voice asks if the Orang Asli have been threatened during the by-election campaign which began two weeks ago.
The Orang Asli man replies that they were “threatened” if they did not show up for PH events.
“So that means threats were made during the by-election campaign?” the person off-camera is heard asking.
“Yes,” the Orang Asli replies.
The local Orang Asli Semai tribe accounts for 6,000 votes, or 20% of the electorate in Cameron highlands, making their support crucial if the candidate hopes to win.
BN is fielding a candidate from the Semai tribe, Ramli Mohd Nor, who is the first Orang Asli candidate for the seat.
PH is represented by M. Manogaran, who succeeded in getting the election court to annul BN’s win in GE14, on grounds the candidate, C. Sivarraajh bribed the Orang Asli for their votes.
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com
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