BN still needs support from non-Malays, non-Muslims — Umno veep

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno vicepresident Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin has clarified his statement on the Semenyih byelection result, insisting that Barisan Nasional (BN) still requires the support of the non-Malay and non-Muslim community.

He explained that he was only speaking in the context of the byelection when he said the MalayMuslim community had sent a strong message to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration over its disappointment on how the nation was being managed.

“Despite BN not obtaining the support of the Chinese and only 40 per cent votes from the Indian community, the MalayMuslim community has sent a clear signal to PH voicing their disappointment by voting the BN candidate.

“This momentum will continue if they remain united with a goal and clear mission to defend their race and religion. At the same time I’ve sternly said that we must be serious in returning the support of the Chinese and Indian voters to BN because each vote is important,” said Mohamed Khaled in a statement.

He stressed that he had never said BN does not need the support of ethnic Chinese and Indian voters in any election and that the coalition requires the support of everyone to create a successful Malaysia.

Previously, the Umno vicepresident said the result of the election, which saw an increase of Malay voter support for BN to 59 per cent yesterday from 35.33 per cent in the 14th general election, clearly shows who the Malays are backing now.

In the first statement yesterday, Mohamed Khaled also observed that BN does not need the support of the non-Malays in order to secure victory there as long as it has the backing from the Malay community and added that the community has shown how disappointed it was with PH.

“Semenyih bore witness to the rise of Malay political influence which is increasingly being marginalised in PH’s strategy. The Malays have sent a clear message that without the support of the Indians and Chinese, the Malays can achieve victory as long as they are united.

“It is important that all parties do not take Malay Islamic politics for granted.

“It will remain as the dominant factor regardless of the Malaysian political landscape,” Mohamed Khaled said, adding that he was confident that the Umno-PAS cooperation strateg