REMBAU: With the Rantau state seat at stake, differences have given way to a united front among Umno.
Former youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, considered somewhat of an outcast lately over his criticisms of the party leadership, has begun campaigning for Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Seri Mohamed Hasan, who is also acting Umno president.
Both appeared together at a rally in Pekan Saga, here, on Saturday night.
Rantau is a seat within the Rembau parliamentary constituency of which Khairy is the MP. Both leaders are expected to play prominent roles in helping BN keep the seat.
Mohamed, a three-term mentri besar of Negri Sembilan, retained the seat unopposed in the 14th general election (GE14) last year, but his victory was later ruled null and void by the Election Court. The decision was later upheld by the Federal Court, triggering the by-election.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) will be represented by Dr S. Streram, who was barred from submitting his nomination papers for GE14 for failing to bring his identification tag.
They are up against Mohd Nor Yassin, who has since been sacked from Parti Amanah Negara for standing as an independent, and R. Malarvizhi, the other independent candidate.
In his speech at the rally, Khairy said PH was not as united as it portrayed itself to be, and that Mohamed needed to win to ensure that BN could play an effective role as the opposition.
Meanwhile, PKR vice-president Tian Chua said voters should demand an explanation from Mohamed for his failure to stand up to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak for his kleptocratic practices.
He also accused BN of drumming up extremism and spreading slander against the government on social media.
“They are taking advantage of PH’s goodwill,” he said. Chua said PH had become a victim of its own reformist agenda and high tolerance (for dissent).
“By permitting freedom of expression, we have enabled BN to concoct a campaign based on deceit and extremism,” he alleged.
“But that is a price you have to pay for advocating democratic values through transparency,” he added.
