Indie campaigns with clothes peg on lips, raises Tok Mat's 'penumpang' remark
RANTAU POLLS | Rantau by-election independent candidate R Malar today raised eyebrows when she turned up on the campaign trail with a clothes peg clipping her lips.
Malar said she was protesting, among others, the "penumpang" reference made against government ministers during the Semenyih by-election campaign...
RANTAU POLLS | Rantau by-election independent candidate R Malar today raised eyebrows when she turned up on the campaign trail with a clothes peg clipping her lips.
Malar said she was protesting, among others, the "penumpang" reference made against government ministers during the Semenyih by-election campaign.
She did not mention names but appeared to be referring to Umno acting president Mohamad Hasan, who had during the Semenyih campaign trail claimed there were too many "penumpang" ministers who were not looking out for the interest of Malays and Muslims.
"During the Semenyih by-election, there was a word used on non-Malay ministers, they were called 'penumpang'.
"If the ministers are being called penumpang, how long will it take for them to call me a 'penumpang'?
"I'm not a 'penumpang', I'm a true Malaysian," she said.
"Penumpang" is often used as a derogatory reference against non-Malays to assert that their ancestors were immigrants.
Malar will be contesting against Mohamad, who is the BN incumbent, and two other candidates, namely Pakatan Harapan's Dr S Steram and independent candidate Mohd Nor Yassin.
Read more: Battle for Rantau - Meet the candidates
Malar said she was also protesting against what she claimed was BN and Harapan preventing their candidates from speaking freely in previous by-elections.
"When I saw that candidates could not speak during the by-election campaigns, I thought that was wrong. I think we need to hear from the candidates," she said.
With a white clothes peg clipping her lips, Malar distributed details about herself in the form of a business card at Pekan Rantau night market.
On the card was her name and the "tree logo", which is her symbol for the by-election.
It also has details such as the dates for early voting and polling day, as well as her bank account number for contributions.
Malar later swapped the clothes peg for a tape, to cover her mouth.
Polling day takes place on April 13.
The Rantau by-election was triggered following the Election Court's decision to void Mohamad's walkover victory in GE14 due to the returning officer preventing his contender Streram from filing nomination papers.
