DAP is worried, says minister
KUALA LUMPUR: Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said DAP propaganda is only aimed at retaining the Malay votes it won.
The Umno treasurer said the history of general elections since 1990 proved that DAP could win several parliamentary constituencies due to cooperation from Malaybased parties, particularly PKR and PAS.
In his analyses of the elections, Salleh said while DAP worked with other Malay parties, it could only win in Chinese-majority areas in the 1990 and 1999 general elections although there was a split in Umno.
“But in the 2008 and 2013 general elections where DAP gained a lot of Malay support as a result of cooperation with PAS and PKR, the number of DAP seats increased drastically after winning 28 seats and 38 seats respectively out of the 222 parliamentary seats.
“Now that PAS is no longer with Pakatan Rakyat, DAP is worried that the party is no longer strong. Hence, DAP has been issuing various propaganda to ensure that Malay voters in PAS remain with it in Pakatan Harapan,” he said in his blog www.sskeruak. blogspot.my yesterday.
Salleh noted that DAP won 20 of the 57 parliamentary seats it contested in the 1990 general election, nine out of 50 in 1995, 10 out of 47 in 1999, 12 out of 44 in 2004, 28 out of 47 in 2008 and 38 out of 51 in 2013.
However, he said, if the Malays were not united, DAP could take control of the country even if it contests 60 parliamentary seats in the coming 14th general election by getting its allies in Pakatan Rakyat like Parti Amanah Negara, PKR and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia to secure the Malay votes.
Salleh said states like Perak, Johor, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca had many mixed-race seats, and DAP was confident that a shift of 10 to 15% in Malay votes was enough for it to take over the country’s administration.
He reminded the Malays not to be politically emotional, but to think of the country’s future before they are drawn to shift their support to Pakatan Harapan.
“The politics of Barisan Nasional is doing good deeds and compromise among the races, and it has been proven successful in developing the country. We all have a responsibility towards our nation,” he said. – Bernama