BENTONG – Loyalty from the Malay community for Barisan Nasional (BN) will ensure success for the coalition in the 15th general election (GE15), said its Bentong candidate Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai.
He added that the community has always sided with BN and is unlikely to turn its back on the coalition any time soon.
“(Votes from the Malay community) have always been with us (BN) and will continue to be with us,” he told The Vibes on the sidelines of his campaign here today.
He added that BN and component party MCA are “getting better” at attracting the Chinese community to support the coalition again.
Liow, who is a former MCA president, said, “The Chinese (voters) are coming back to us (MCA).”
“BN has been seen to be a very progressive, inclusive and moderate (coalition). Our policies over the past 60 or so years are a proven formula for success.”
Liow is attempting to regain the Bentong parliamentary seat after being bested in the 2018 general election by Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Wong Tack, who secured his win with a majority of just over 2,000 votes.
Wong is seeking to defend the seat as an independent candidate after being dropped by PH component party DAP for Young Syefura Othman.
Liow’s campaign event held at a Chinese restaurant here saw the attendance of about 700 locals, most of whom are from the Chinese community.
Meanwhile, Liow said the newly launched BN manifesto is a timely proposal of what the coalition plans to enact if it wins Putrajaya as the people are struggling with the rising cost of living.
BN had pledged that no household will earn less than the country’s poverty line income of RM2,208 a month if it comes into federal power.
Liow also took a jab at PH’s manifesto, which he labelled as being “filled with even more unmet promises” in comparison to BN’s pledges for GE15.
“(BN’s) manifesto is made up of promises that we will surely fulfil after we win the election. As you can see, (PH) has even more promises it has yet to fulfil.”
PH’s manifesto, launched on November 2, featured several recycled promises, including a pledge to eliminate toll rates for the North-South Expressway if it is granted the mandate to rule.
Bentong is set to see a five-cornered fight for GE15. Besides Liow, Wong and Young Syefura, the constituency is also being eyed by Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Roslan Hassan and independent Mohd Khalil Abdul Hamid.
Malaysians will head to polling stations on November 19, with early voting set for November 15. – The Vibes, November 8, 2022
