After scrapping through in the last polls, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is confident that the support of non-Malays will help him retain his Pekan parliamentary seat in Pahang with a bigger majority.

"I am confident the non-Malay voters will definitely choose me rather than him (his opponent Brig Jen (R) Zakaria Dahlan of PAS) ( photo, right )," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report today.

He said this was due to Barisan Nasional's (BN) stand as a multiracial political party that does not give preference to any racial group.

"With the BN's stand to be multiracial, I personally believe the rakyat will see us (BN) as impartial," he added.

He said with the support of all ethnic groups he was confident of retaining the Pekan parliamentary seat with a bigger majority.

"If everyone plays their part, I am confident of a big victory...better than in the previous election," he added.

In the last polls, Najib beat PAS candidate Ramli Mohamed by a mere 241 votes. Najib bagged 13,148 votes as opposed to Ramli's 12,907. The Pekan parliamentary seat has 51,406 registered voters, of which 89 percent are Malay voters, 3.2 percent Chinese and 1.5 percent Indians.

Full support

Meanwhile, Pekan PPP and MIC pledged their full support for the deputy premier and acting Umno deputy president. The two divisions have some 2,000 members.

"Datuk Seri (Najib) need not worry...full support will be given...no doubt about that," said Pekan PPP pro tem chief P Ramasamy.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that the people in the constituency were jostling to meet their homegrown leader last night and even a car-jeep collision nearby did not distract them.

The deputy premier had visited the MIC and PPP operation centre there.

The report said people from all walks of life were seen crowding the operation room an hour before Najib's arrival.

"He need not worry...sure okay," Yau Her Cheang, 67, told the national news agency in response to a question on Najib's chances at Sunday's polls.

"Everyone - Malays, Indians, Chinese and Orang Asli - was enjoying the 'Late Night Najib Show' and joy was written all over Najib's face," added the report.