BENTONG – Political parties should focus on winning the 15th general election (GE15) fairly instead of resorting to “tricks” to distract voters, said Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Bentong candidate Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai.
Chastising the Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition for its premature talk on who should lead Pahang as its menteri besar, he advised PN to concentrate on strategies to win over the people.
“You must win the election first before you can talk about who is going to be the menteri besar,” he told reporters when met on the sidelines of his campaign event here.
“(PN) is just using tricks to fish for votes (but) the people become upset when (parties) talk about who is going to be the menteri besar (before securing a win).”
Liow’s remarks followed PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement yesterday that if his coalition emerges victorious in Pahang and Perlis, the menteri besar picks will be from PAS.
Liow, who is a former MCA president, also lambasted PN for an ostensible lack of proper nation-building plans, claiming that this is made more obvious because of the work done by BN.
“(BN) has a success formula for the country (which focuses on) pushing the country forward as a progressive nation.
“I don’t see (PN) coming up with progressive policies. They are just talking about their menteri besar (candidate).”
Meanwhile, MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong reiterated that BN’s Pahang menteri besar candidate remains Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who is the caretaker leader there.
“Let the people decide for themselves,” he said briefly here.
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.
PN’s Bentong candidate, Datuk Roslan Hassan, and an independent candidate, Mohd Khalil Abdul Hamid, are also eyeing the seat.
Malaysians will head to polling stations on November 19, with early voting set for November 15. – The Vibes, November 8, 2022
