Khairy: Don’t spoil your votes, support Barisan

KOTA KINABALU: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has urged youths who are considering spoiling their votes in the general election to instead cast their ballots for Barisan Nasional.

He attributed the rise in support for the #UndiRosak (spoilt votes) movement to Pakatan Harapan naming Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its candidate for Prime Minister.

Khairy, who is also Barisan Nasional Youth chairman, urged those behind the movement to consider casting their votes for the coalition, especially those disillusioned with the Opposition.

“I was made to understand that many of those supporting #UndiRosak are disillusioned. They have lost hope in Pakatan after Mahathir was named as PM candidate.

“I hope voters, especially the younger ones, will not spoil their votes because this involves the country’s future.

“Although it is within the voters’ right to spoil their votes, I hope they choose to give the mandate to Barisan,” he said.

Sabah and Sarawak, said Khairy, were neglected during the time of the former prime minister who was in power for 22 years, adding that it was his successors who brought development to the two states.

He said to this day, the ruling coa- lition was still “correcting the one- sided development of Malaysia”, which was a legacy of the former premier’s leadership.

“Now, you have the Pan Borneo Highway and increased investments into education in Sabah and Sarawak’s rural areas,” Khairy said, adding that development was no longer only enjoyed by those living in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

“We cannot possibly allow the man responsible for the problems we still face today to govern the country again.

“For those in the Opposition who claim he’s a changed man, he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Once a dictator, always a dictator,” Khairy told reporters here yesterday.

The Umno Youth chief had earlier chaired a meeting with Sabah’s Barisan Youth leaders to discuss preparations for the general election.