Redzuan Yusof banks on non-Malay votes to defend Alor Gajah

 

PN’s Redzuan Yusof says Chinese voters will not abandon him because they respect a ‘clean’ Malay leadership.

ALOR GAJAH: Perikatan Nasional’s Alor Gajah candidate, Redzuan Yusof, does not deny that his fate in the general election may lie in the hands of over 30% non-Malay voters.

The former Alor Gajah MP said he was confident that non-Malay voters would continue to support him even though his party is no longer with Pakatan Harapan (PH), adding that they appreciate his work as their previous elected representative.

“I don’t think Chinese voters would abandon me because they respect a ‘clean’ Malay leadership.

“They understand that Muslim Bumiputeras make up the majority of Malaysians and that must be reflected, but we must also show a good example of such leadership,” he told FMT.

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Asked whether PN’s decision to work with PAS would cause him to lose non-Malay support, Redzuan said Alor Gajah voters prefer to choose the candidate over the party.

He said that non-Malay support for PH for GE15 is not as strong as that in the last general election as they (non-Malays) are no longer afraid of Islamic-based parties.

“Non-Malay voters now look at the character of the leaders, so there is no fear of Islam. They don’t want to be led by thieves, so we need to impress upon them the importance of good values in Islam,” he said.

According to data from the last general election, voters in Alor Gajah comprise 61% Malays, 25% Chinese, 13% Indians and 1% others.

Asked if he was concerned about Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH fielding big names in Alor Gajah, Redzuan said he is ready to challenge anyone, including Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan and former Melaka chief minister Adly Zahari.

He was confident Alor Gajah’s voters would support him over PH’s candidate from Amanah, whom he said is viewed by voters as someone DAP fielded to divide the Malays. Shahril, on the other hand, is an unknown, he said.

He said that even though BN had won the Melaka election, PN still stood a chance in GE15 due to the close cooperation between PAS and Bersatu.

He said voters wanted to see Muslim unity in the country and so, the Malays must endeavour to unite all races.

Alor Gajah will see a four-cornered fight among Redzuan, Shahril, Adly and Pejuang candidate Muhammad Nazriq on Nov 19. - FMT