PAKATAN Harapan (PH) hopes Sungai Bakap residents will not be voting with their emotions in the July 6 by-elecyion.
Jelutong MP RSN Rayer, who is leading the charge for Indian support, said Perikatan Nasional would be using the race and religion card to win support.
"We hope the voters will be wise and vote based on facts rather than emotions. We hope to inform the voters about our achievements instead of the fake and half-truths which our rivals tend to peddle," said Rayer.
He said he was suprised that Urimai, a DAP splinter party, had not fielded a candidate for the state seat after heaping criticism on PH.
"Urimai should have been a gentleman and contested if they care so much about the voters. They should not be accusing us of this and that while they do not have the principle to contest against us in an election," said Rayer.
Urimai is led by former DAP leaders P. Ramasamy, who was Penang deputy chief minister for three terms; M. Satees, former Bagan Dalam assemblyman; and David Marshall, a former long-serving Seberang Prai councillor.
The Sungai Bakap by-election is a straight fight between PN candidate Abidin Ismail, 56, and PH's Joohari Ariffin, 60.
PN elections director Datuk Seri Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor, who is the Kedah menteri besar, said the academic qualifications of the candidate should not be the focal point of voters.
Joohari has a PhD in education from Universiti Sains Malaysia while his challenger Abidin has a secondary school qualification.
Sanusi said Abidin is the people's choice as he has served the constituents here.
Sanusi said that PN will use the "personal touch" to win over voters. – June 22, 2024.
