KUALA KUBU BAHARU – Taking a page out of his boss’ playbook, Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Khairul Azhari Saut wants to capture non-Malay voters by ensuring “no one is left behind”.
The 54-year-old acting Hulu Selangor Bersatu chief said this was the same approach used by the coalition when PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was prime minister.
Even though garnering votes and nurturing trust of the Chinese community would be tough, Khairul remains optimistic, saying that they could be swayed to vote for PN amid current economic and rising cost of living issues.
A large majority of the Chinese votes went to DAP in the 2023 state election.
“Yes, I realise that it will be difficult for candidates other than DAP’s, to get a lot of votes from the Chinese here.
“However, PN has strategies and methods to gain their support. I will not reveal more, but one of the approaches is to ensure no one is left behind when it comes to government assistance.
“That will be one of our approaches, because PN was a government that cared for the people, regardless of race,” he said when met during a walkabout at Bandar Utama, Batang Kali, here, yesterday.
He also teased some “surprises” in his manifesto, which will be announced soon.
Khairul faces a four-corner fight against his biggest challenger, DAP’s Pang Sock Tao, who is running under the Pakatan Harapan ticket.
The other contenders are Hafizah Zainuddin of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and independent Nyau Ke Xie.
Kuala Kubu Baharu’s demographic used to be Chinese dominated but this has changed over time.
The Malay voters have increased from 32.7% during the 2013 general election to 49.3% in the 2023 state election, while Chinese voters have shrunk from 42.7% to 30.6%.
The remaining 17.9% are Indian voters, and 2.1% are Orang Asli and those of other ethnicities.
The Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election was triggered following the death of its incumbent, Lee Kee Hiong, 58, on March 21 due to cancer.
There are two weeks of campaigning before voters cast their ballots on May 11. Early voting is on May 7. – April 28, 2024