SG KANDIS POLLS | The government's move to have national school students switch from white to black shoes next year has become a fodder for BN's campaign in Sungai Kandis.

BN deputy chairperson Mohamad Hasan cited the decision as a purported example of how the Pakatan Harapan government still "does not know what it is doing."

"I think Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik changes the national education policy through the feet, not through the head.

"I don't know what he was thinking to start making changes to the education policy with shoe colours. Maybe he has no other work," Mohamad, who is also Umno deputy president, and Sungai Kandis by-election director, said this during his speech at an introduction session for the BN candidate in Kampung Sungai Kandis in Shah Alam, last night.

The by-election on Aug 4 will see a three-cornered contest between Pakatan Harapan's Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, BN's Lokman Noor Adam and independent candidate Murthy Krishnasamy.

The poll was called following the death of incumbent Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei of PKR on July 2.

Mohamad, who is former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar, also took a swipe at the Harapan government for not succeeding in lowering the price of goods.

"It's true that the prices of tomatoes have gone down and also durian (the Musang King variety) but it's because the fruit has lost its value after being barred from entering China," he argued.

Housing issue

Mohamad also said the Harapan government will run into trouble if it does not take aggressive steps to spur the country's economy.

"A bag of cement used to cost RM15 last time and today, it is RM9.50. This has nothing to do with the zero-rating of the goods and services tax (GST) but because the nation's housing industry is in trouble as many housing projects are on hold."

According to Mohamad, BN lost a lot of seats in the 14th general election, due to infighting and not because its opponents were "brilliant or too strong".

He also claimed that Umno is back to having a "clean slate" to start with following its colossal loss in GE14.