BN said a statement, purportedly from chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi barring certain individuals from campaigning in Nenggiri, is false.
PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional (BN) has denied allegations that it does not want its members or key allies in the unity government to speak at rallies during its Nenggiri by-election campaign.
On the other hand, its campaign chief Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has told the DAP to stay away.
BN said in a Facebook post today that the statement barring members and allies from speaking, ostensibly from chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, is a fake.
It described the claim as “political manoeuvres” intended to divide the unity government, Bernama reported.
“All official press statements will be published only on the official BN Facebook page,” the coalition said.
“We hope that people will not be deceived by such political tactics every time an election approaches. We urge all parties to remain responsible and not spread fake news,” BN added in the post.
BN has dismissed as false a statement claiming that PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, Umno supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam, Jeli Umno Youth information chief Wan Mahussin Wan Zain and social media influencer Wan Hadi had been banned from delivering campaign speeches in the Nenggiri by-election.
It was claimed that the decision was in response to their role in BN’s defeat in the Sungai Bakap by-election.
Pakatan Harapan’s Joohari Ariffin lost to Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Abidin Ismail in the June 12 contest.
However, Malaysia Now reported that Razaleigh is of the view that there is no logical reason for the DAP to campaign given that Nenggiri is “100% Malay”.
“What’s the point of DAP coming to Malay areas?” he told the portal.
“They (DAP) are not even proficient in Malay,” he said, adding that DAP’s campaign speeches were always skewed more to the Chinese demographic.
“They will be just wasting their time and wasting our time too. The Malays in Nenggiri want to hear from the Malays about the Malays there,” he added.
Nomination day for the Nenggiri by-election has been scheduled for Aug 3 and if there is a contest, polling will proceed on Aug 17.
The by-election was called after the seat was declared vacant following the cessation of incumbent Azizi Abu Naim’s membership in Bersatu on June 13.
Source link
