A Gerakan candidate in Penang has assured that PAS will not move to ban gambling or restrict sale of alcohol in the state if Perikatan Nasional comes into power after the state polls.
Penang Gerakan Youth information chief Andrew Ooi, who is contesting in Paya Terubong, told a Malaysiakini -hosted forum in Penang last night that this was as long as his party remains as a PN coalition member with PAS and he getting elected into the next state assembly.
"People say if 'Green Wave' comes (to Penang) they (PAS) will ban gambling, ban alcohol, ban everything.
"(But) this is no longer (about) the ‘Green Wave’. This is the will of (all) the people. The people want to change, a change that can make our nation great again," said Ooi.
"I can assure everyone here that as long as Gerakan is in PN, there is no banning of gambling or banning of alcohol here," he stressed.
The “Green Wave” was a term coined to describe the rising support of Malay Muslims for PAS after the 15th general election.
However, the party had rejected the term as alleged attempts by its rivals to instil fear among non-Muslim voters.
Referring to PAS-led administrations in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, Ooi was earlier asked why Penang youths should vote for PN and whether he believes PN is suitable to govern a state like Penang with more non-Muslim voters.
"For me personally, there's a lot of narratives that have been played by politicians," he said in response to questions from forum moderator, Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) deputy chief executive officer K Sudhagaran Stanley.
"You cannot say one person's actions represent the whole party," said Ooi.
Meanwhile, Ooi defended caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor's move to cease operations of all gambling shops in the state and no longer renew gambling licences from Jan 1 this year.
"Let me explain to the people why Sanusi banned gambling. Because during the pandemic, the people were suffering.
"Then when the pandemic was recovering, the B40 was trying to be hopeful by placing their money in gaming outlets," he said.
"They put a large sum of money... but Sanusi received a lot of complaints that they were taking money away from their bread and butter (daily needs).
"So he made a tough decision for the betterment of the people, not to renew the licence," said Ooi.
Part of the discussions on youth voter trends that also featured former Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto and Penang Muda information chief Danial Abdul Majeed was based on Malaysiakini's latest interactive feature that uses GE15 data to analyse voting patterns based on age groups.
Within PN, Gerakan is contesting 36 seats out of 245 seats in six states, 19 of which are in Penang.
Equal partner
Ooi said Gerakan has targeted to win at least six seats to the 21 seats simple majority required to form a government, while the remaining 15 will come from Bersatu and PAS.
"This is how we ensure we have a voice to stop whatever kind of decision.
"If we get out of PN, they (PAS, Bersatu) won't form a government anymore," he said.
Asked whether Gerakan can play the role of an equal partner to PAS and Bersatu in PN, Ooi said he felt confident, especially after their success to field party president Dominic Lau in Bayan Lepas (N38), a seat eyed by PAS.
"If we are not equal, we wouldn't have got Bayan Lepas seat.
"If we want to do something, we have to stand firm as Gerakan. We are all equal," he said.
Last night, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan apologised to Lau over how Penang PAS secretary Iszuree Ibrahim, who was supposed to be fielded in Bayan Lepas, had allegedly snubbed him during a ceramah in Sungai Dua, Penang.
Lau, however, had denied being prevented from speaking on the ceramah stage.
Instead, he claimed that he came to meet with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, and he left after they could not meet.
Takiyuddin, in his statement, also reminded party members of their role to assist and protect the needy, in this case referring to Gerakan and Lau in PN.
Overall in the six states, PAS is contesting the largest number of seats with 126, followed by Bersatu with 83 seats. - Mkini
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