By Roshidi Abu Samah (NST)
IPOH: PERAK Barisan Nasional leaders have rubbished claims that the
Malay support for the opposition has increased to 32 per cent this year
from 28 per cent in 2008.
Perak Umno secretary Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib said yesterday the
claim had no basis as state Pas deputy commissioner Datuk Seri Mohammad
Nizar Jamaluddin had made his conclusion based only on a "coffee shop
study" by buying people in Malay-majority constituencies breakfast in
their favourite coffee shops every Friday morning.
On the contrary, he said, a survey conducted by Perak Umno revealed
that Malay voters' support for BN had increased sharply since 2008.
"In fact, we are confident that Umno will win all 36 Malay-majority
seats it is contesting, in addition to seats contested by BN in
constituencies with mixed voters."
Khusairi and other BN leaders were asked to comment on an online report
on Sunday, which quoted the former menteri besar as having said that
Malay support for the opposition had increased to a comfortable level of
32 per cent since 2008.
He said the recent decision by Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to abandon an earlier plan to contest a
parliamentary seat in Perak was proof that the Malay support towards the
opposition in Perak had waned.
He said Anwar had been eyeing Malay-majority constituencies like Bagan
Datoh, Tambun and Tanjung Malim, but changed his mind after learning
that his political ceramah received lacklustre response from the Malay
community in the areas.
"Anwar's U-turn proves to Nizar that the Malay voters in Perak are abandoning the opposition in droves."
Gerakan deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn said Nizar was daydreaming
and that his claim was merely a syok sendiri (self-praising) statement.
He said Malay voters had thrown solid support behind BN as witnessed during public programmes in the state.
"I can see that the unity in Umno is stronger now than in 2008," said
Chang, who is expected to be fielded as BN candidate for the Beruas
parliamentary seat.
Perak MIC deputy chairman Datuk R. Ganesan said he was confident that
BN would be able to retain Perak in the 13th General Election based on
the strong support shown by the people towards the ruling coalition. He
said the administration and economic transformation initiatives
introduced by Datuk Seri Najib Razak had prompted people to shift their
support to BN.
"Programmes such as 1Malaysia People's Aid, 1Malaysia Schooling Aid and
1Malaysia Book Voucher have received positive feedback from the rakyat,
particularly the Malay community."
The claim made by Nizar, he said, was mere political talk that had no substance. - NST
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
AS PUBLISHED HERE...
N.58 Slim
