On Johor campaign trail, Harapan tries to shed DAP’s ‘anti-Malay’ image

As part of its campaign in Johor’s Malay heartland, Pakatan Harapan is attempting to shed DAP’s “anti-Malay” image – one that its opponents have long portrayed it as being.

During a ceramah in Senggarang last night, DAP’s Penggaram assemblyperson Gan Peck Cheng and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim highlighted the party's achievements in protecting Malay interests.

Gan said that in 2014, she raised issue in the Johor state assembly about projects to build 96 religious schools that had been abandoned, but she was told off for being nosy.

Speaking in Malay with a thick Chinese accent, she said, “Nevertheless, many abandoned projects had been revived. The only one that has yet to start is the one in Minyak Beku.

“We really want to fight for the people, and this has been DAP’s principle for 52 years,” she said.

Concurring with Gan, Johor Amanah chief Aminolhuda Hassan said it is embarrassing that DAP has to stand up for religious schools, because it brings to light the state government’s failure to do so.

He added that Harapan’s choice of prime minister candidate is also proof that DAP does not dominate the opposition coalition.

“Umno used to say Harapan is dominated by DAP. Who did we announce as our candidate for prime minister? Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Not only did we announce the seventh prime minister, but we also announced the eighth prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, and a female deputy prime minister, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong, Sim drew cheers from the crowd as he spoke in fluent Bahasa Malaysia.

He joked, “Some in Umno said I could not speak Malay. Perhaps I am speaking Japanese now.”

A member of the crowd shouted in reply, “It’s fine. Even if you speak Japanese, it’s fine.”

'No more need to work in Singapore'

Sim also told the audience that the DAP-led Penang government had directed garbage collection concessionaires to hire Malaysians instead of migrant workers for the job.

“The Malay (garbage collection) concessionaires don’t hire from Kampung Jawa in Malaysia, but in Indonesia, and only pay RM500 for their hard work. The pay is RM500 regardless of whether the boss is a Malay, Chinese, or Indian.

“After (Penang Chief Minister) Lim Guan Eng took over the administration, the Penang government withdrew the concession agreements. Some say this is oppression against Malay entrepreneurs…

“When we withdrew the concession agreement, we created 3,000 cleaning jobs and hired a 100 percent Malaysian workforce. And the minimum salary was RM1,500 and has since being raised to RM1,900,” he said.

With a laugh, he said some Penang factory employers complained to the chief minister that they were unable to hire Malaysians because the pay offered by the Penang government was too high.

“Lim told them to offer a higher salary to draw local talent. We want to pressure factory bosses to raise their wages. When we become the government, Johoreans would not need to go to Singapore to work, and Penangites would not need to go to the US for work,” he said.

In his speech, Sim also recited a Malay pantun as the audience recited it along with him. The pantun was based on Indonesia’s and Malacca’s history, but was used here to mock the federal government.

When Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin rose to speak, he praised Sim for his fluency in Bahasa Malaysia.

“His pantun recital is even better than mine,” he quipped.

Other speakers at the ceramah included Johor PKR vice chief Hassan Karim and PKR’s Batu Pahat MP Mohd Idris Jusi.

The Senggarang state constituency, where last night's event was held, has 27,110 registered voters, of whom 64.4 percent are Malay, 34.8 percent are Chinese, 0.6 percent are Indian.

In the last election, the Umno candidate Abdul Aziz Ismail defeated his PAS contender by a 2,083-vote majority.

The constituency is seen as a marginal seat by PKR, and its Johor secretary Khairuddin Abdul Rahim is speculated to be picked to contest the seat in the next election. -Mkini