SHAH ALAM, 27 May: The Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto presented recently in Teluk Intan is seen as ignoring their candidate, and Gerakan President, Mah Siew Keong, when it was announced by the cabinet minister in his absence.
The DAP Parliamentary Leader, Lim Kit Siang, said that this has never happened in the history of Teluk Intan, or any election in this country, when only the Minister and Deputy Minister from Umno ‘comes down en masse’ to sow their promises.
He is also of the opinion that the Teluk Intan by-election, which will take place this Saturday, will be transformed from a contest between the DAP vs Gerakan into DAP vs UMNO.
“Poor Mah Siew Keong. Even during the Teluk Intan by-election, he cannot get the recognition of Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders as Gerakan President and candidate to respect his authority and the law.
“Then how can he get the respect and recognition from Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders after the by-election even if he wins on May 31st?” he said in a statement.
In the meantime, Kit Siang, also the Gelang Patah Member of Parliament, said that Mah’s own manifesto, which was presented yesterday, is seen as not receiving BN support and shows that the party has now two contradictory promises offered to the people.
He also doubts that Mah’s manifesto will be honoured by Umno and BN in the next few years, prior to the 14th General Election (GE14).
“The question that should immediately be asked is whether the manifesto released by Mah today is his personal manifesto, the manifesto of Gerakan, or the manifesto of UMNO/Barisan Nasional?
“Will he get the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to come to Teluk Intan before May 31 to declare that the manifesto he released this morning is the Umno/Barisan Nasional manifesto which the Umno/Barisan Nasional Federal Government would honour in the next three to four years before the 14th general elections?” he asked.
During the launch of his manifesto, Mah reportedly said that he cannot be held accountable for the promises made by ministers in his absence.
He added that those were their promises, not his.
Mah will be facing a young candidate from DAP, Dyana Sofya, in a historic battle in Teluk Intan on Saturday.
