Khairy criticises Umno's racial and religious rhetoric during Sg Kandis polls
Sunday, 5 Aug 201810:53 AM MYT
PETALING JAYA: Former Youth and Sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) has criticised Umno's use of racial and religious rhetoric in the Sungai Kandis by-election.
"This is the existential dilemma facing Umno right now. There are those that still use the DAP Christian rhetoric, etc. But, there are some that are still sane too," he tweeted on Saturday night (Aug 4).
The Rembau MP was responding to a Twitter user who said that if Umno wanted to go far, it had to stop playing with racial and religious sentiments to strike fear in others.
It was reported that Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman had urged voters to not support a Christian-led Pakatan Harapan Government when he spoke to an all-Malay crowd in Kampung Jawa on the eve of the polls.
Pakatan's Zawawi Ahmad Mughni won with 15,427 votes, while Barisan Nasional's Datuk Lokman Noor Adam garnered 9,585 votes and independent candidate K. Murthy received 97 votes. The voter majority was 5,842.
Former Sungai Kandis assemblyman Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei, also from PKR, succumbed to lymphoma on July 2, which paved the way for the by-election.
During the May 9 general election, Mat Shuhaimi had won the state seat with 23,998 votes.
Khairy also responded to another Twitter user who said that Umno should not give way to PAS to contest in the Seri Setia by-election but instead, the party should field a fresh candidate.
The Twitter user said that controversial figures should be barred from campaigning.
"That should be the way. This tactical alliance is not the way to go," said Khairy.
He added that Umno needed to be strong on its own after another Twitter user said that the Umno-PAS alliance did not bring any political good to the party.
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had said Barisan would not contest for the Seri Setia seat to make way for PAS.
The Seri Setia state seat fell vacant after incumbent PKR assemblyman Prof Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin passed away on Aug 2 after a battle with cancer.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/08/05/khairy-criticises-umnos-racial-and-religious-rhetoric-during-sg-kandis-polls/#9lWZtTJPhiA5KHVC.99
