KUALA LUMPUR – Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is right in advising DAP not to campaign in the upcoming Nenggiri state legislative assembly by-election as part of Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Harapan (PH-BN) strategy to ensure victory for BN candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani.
Geostrategic and Nusantara Strategic Research Academy (NASR) senior fellow associate professor Azmi Hassan told Scoop that the call seems “coincidental”, especially since the voters in Nenggiri are predominantly Malay.
He said that the upcoming by-election will see a “clash” between BN, Bersatu, and PAS candidates running for the seat.
“I agree with Tengku Razaleigh’s strategy because the majority of voters in the area are Malays, so there are not many PH voters there.
“So with this call, Tengku Razaleigh is giving strength to Umno and hopes to the Malay voters that each vote they cast is a vote for Umno.
“However, this strategy would not hurt Umno’s relationship with DAP, because what is more important here is the chance for the PH-BN candidate to win the seat in Nenggiri,” he said.
Echoing similar thoughts, Universiti Malaya associate professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi said that recommendations by Tengku Razaleigh, fondly known as ‘Ku Li’, are appropriate, considering his better understanding of the voter demographic in the area.
“There is a rationale behind Ku Li’s recommendation that calls for DAP to not go on the ground and campaign in Nenggiri because almost all of the voters in the area are Malays.”
“He (Tengku Razaleigh) understood the sentiments and issues for the Malay voters (in Nenggiri) better, seeing that he was an MP (for Gua Musang) for decades.
“So because of that, he believed that his input, that DAP members do not participate in campaigning, would help the PH-BN coalition win,” he said.
Previously, Tengku Razaleigh reportedly asked DAP leaders to stay away from campaigning in Nenggiri due to the area’s predominantly Malay voter demographic.
The former Gua Musang MP also suggested this because DAP leaders’ campaign speeches often focus on Chinese community interests. – July 28, 2024