Two days to go before Ketari voters decide who they want to represent them at the Pahang legislative assembly, no less than the second most powerful person in the government and ruling party was there to bring the rival contesting party to task for allegedly sparking racial sentiments.

Barisan Nasional deputy chairperson and deputy premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today slammed DAP for contradicting its self-proclaimed multi-racial stance.

"The DAP claims itself to be a multi-racial party and yet it raises all these racial sentiments particularly pertaining to education policies," he said

DAP has long championed the cause of Chinese schools whose future, mother-tongue activists said, is in doubt due to government plans such as the vision school concept.

However, Abdullah said, "We cannot use sensitive issues to give rise to the anger of the people, we cannot raise seditious issues."

He was speaking at a press conference after officiating a family-day function organised by the Women and Family Development Ministry for local residents.

Abdullah also vouched for Ketari's BN candidate Yum Ah Ha from component party Gerakan, stating that Yum is still young and has served in the government before.

"The hopes of the BN winning is piling up and if we go to the polls tomorrow we will win as we have a well-qualified candidate and he is good at solving people's problems," Abdullah said.

The scenario appeared different to Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik two weeks ago who had then said the BN was facing a tough fight in the by-election.

The contest will pit Yum, 51, against DAP's Choong Siew Onn, 34.

The seat fell vacant following the death of Loke Koon Kam of Gerakan. In the 1999 general elections, Loke defeated Choong with a slim 231-vote majority, garnering 5,874 votes.

Cooling rain

At the family-day function earlier, while Abdullah was in the middle of his speech, it began to rain on the crowd.

He quickly told the school children in the crowd to come into the covered podium where he was standing, earning the applause of everyone.

"This rain is not to dampen our spirits but rather a blessing from God to cool everything down and make things fertile," he said.

During his speech he also took a swipe at PAS' visible support for the DAP candidate, calling PAS and DAP strange bedfellows.

"They both sleep on the same mattress but have different dreams," Abdullah quipped.

"They (DAP) is not getting enough votes, that's why they have to call in PAS as well," he claimed.

DAP had to pull out of the opposition BA coalition following irreconcilable differences with PAS over the Muslim party's Islamic state agenda.

Ballot 'blackmail'

Also present during his speech were Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, Information Minister Khalil Yaakob, Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil and Umno vice-president Muhammad Muhd Taib.

Earlier, when presenting a speech at the same function, Adnan called on voters to be patient and not use the ballot box to blackmail the ruling government.

To those who were unsatisfied over the land allocation in the Ketari constituency, the menteri besar said, "I call for your patience and I understand why you are upset, but please do not use it to blackmail us and we are in the process of fixing the problem "