PKR today declared that they are a close second behind BN in the final lap of the Batu Sapi by-election contest.

The party’s election director Fuziah Salleh said they are confident they have surpassed SAPP in overall support from the 25,000-odd voters, with 48 hours left to polling day on Nov 4.

NONE “There is already movement in the Chinese community, and we are also starting to gain ground with the bumiputera voters,” she said at PKR’s daily press conference at their operations centre.

Fuziah ( left in pic ) noted that their main concern now is the expected ‘goodies blitz’ that BN is notorious for whenever a campaign comes close to the end.

She claimed that Umno and BN have indoctrinated the poor in Sabah to come up to politicians and brazenly ask for handouts in exchange for their votes.

“People actually came up to us with lists of 200 people, or even 2,000 people, and ask us what we can give them.

“They are waiting to see who will give them some incentive first, they say ‘ tengoklah berapa mau bagi ’ (let’s see how much is given)... this is what Umno and BN taught them,” she said.

Fuziah said it was unacceptable how BN elected representatives can allow Sabahans, such as many in Batu Sapi, to live in abject poverty over the past several decades.

“They are so poor, when we give the children pen and paper, they really hold on to it because they truly have nothing. I fear that Sabahans will be held to ransom by the small gifts that we expect BN will hand out over the last 48 hours,” she said.

    

‘We are in till the end’

Fuziah meanwhile rubbished rumours that PKR are pulling out of the Batu Sapi contest, saying this is a dirty tactic by BN as they have run out of capital going into the final lap of the race.

azlan “The graph is showing we are coming up and the Prime Minister is down with chickenpox... he cannot do the same tactics he did in Hulu Selangor and Sibu, so they have to resort to other dirty tactics.

“PKR is the voice of the people, and we won’t desert the battleground. We are telling the people of Batu Sapi that we are here until the end. This is our last push against all odds,” she said.

Fuziah noted that they will continue to hammer through their stand that Batu Sapi’s voters have nothing to lose by choosing Pakatan, stressing that an opposition presence would surely lead to better service by the government.