Day 5 | Race card always gets played when Umno is threatened - Rafizi

GE15 LIVE DAY 5 | It's Day 5 of the 15th general election campaign period, and there are nine days to go before polling day.

Follow our live blog as the Malaysiakini team brings you the news as it takes place.

Rafizi: Racist ‘Malays v Chinese’ narratives illogical

10pm: Sekinchan, Selangor - Some 200 people throng a Pakatan Harapan ceramah featuring PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli and the coalition’s candidate for Sungai Besar, Saipolyazan Yusop.

The event also sees several other speakers, including PKR deputy information chief Razeef Rakimin and Sungai Kandis state assemblyperson Zawawi Mughni.

Rafizi in his speech talks about racist narratives that he says have been creating fear and are splitting the people.

He says that many Malay voters he had met all expressed they want to support Harapan but they fear that the Chinese might take over the country.

According to Rafizi, such narratives being peddled by Umno to make the Malays fear the Chinese are no longer logical in the modern days. 

“The racist issue in this country only started in the mid-80s when Umno was split.

“Until today, the issue of Malays fearing the Chinese only arises when the leaders in Umno were about to lose their power.

“Which race has the most number in this country? It’s the Malays. Which religion has the most followers in this country? It’s Islam. Even the birth rate of the Malays is the highest, meaning in 20, 30 years to come, there will be even more Malays.

“So what is with this fear of the Chinese? It is not logical,” says Rafizi.

The politician tells the ceramah goers that the people should not be blamed for the split among the races, as the responsibility is Umno’s.

He claims that Umno has created a system that divides the races, that they are confined to their own community.

“Because Umno learned from the British, divide and conquer.

“So it is easy for them to pit the people against each other,” Rafizi added.

Cops nab 2 for pictures of GE15 ballots

8.30pm: Kota Bharu, Kelantan - Police arrest two men for allegedly posting and distributing pictures of the 15th general election postal ballot papers on WhatsApp, Bernama reports.

“We have detained individuals for receiving and distributing (pictures of GE15 ballot papers) and are identifying the motive.

“Any election document should not be distributed as this will create a negative perception in the community, besides keeping what is secret a secret,” says Kelantan police chief Muhamad Zaki Harun during a press conference at the state police headquarters.

The duo are remanded for three days to facilitate investigations under Section 3(1) (j) of the Election Offences Act 1954 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Ismail Sabri: KJ is PM material

8.05pm: Ayer Hitam, Johor - Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob reportedly vouches for Umno’s Sungai Buloh candidate Khairy Jamaluddin’s qualities as a prime minister, but “not for now”.

“Of course, he is qualified to be prime minister in the future. If we win an election, and get the support of the party, KJ is definitely one of those qualified to be appointed as prime minister one day,” Bernama quotes him as saying.

‘Is RM500k enough?’ - Jamal pledges aid to Sungai Besar fisherfolk

7.15pm: Sungai Besar, Selangor - BN candidate for the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat Jamal Md Yunos holds a walkabout at the Kampung Baru Nelayan jetty where he meets with fisherfolk and representatives of the local fishing association.

During the programme, Jamal is briefed on the fisherfolks’ issues, especially regarding the poor condition of their jetty.

The Sungai Besar Umno division chief is then heard asking if RM500,000 is enough to help them repair the jetty and its infrastructures, including a prayer room that is used daily by the fisherfolk.

Sungai Besar Fisherfolk’s Association representative Mohd Adli Ujang tells Malaysiakini they appreciate Jamal’s visit and his concern for their welfare.

“We welcome Jamal’s promise to help us. InsyaAllah, if the fisherfolk community here can assist him to win the election, I am confident he will keep his promise.

“We appreciate what he has done here for us, he had previously extended some assistance to help us fisherfolk here who are struggling,” he says.

According to Adli, Jamal was the only politician who had engaged them from time to time and showed his concern about their plight.

Ramanan prepares for flood in Sungai Buloh

5.48pm: Harapan’s Sungai Buloh candidate cancels his walkabout at a night market there tonight, to prepare for possible flooding.

R Ramanan and the Harapan election machinery there are now standing by with emergency equipment and two speedboats, in case of floods in the area.

Najib is disappointed, Nooryana tells Umno members

5pm: Former Umno president Najib Abdul Razak’s daughter, Nooryana Najwa visits the BN’s Pauh state constituency “war room” today to motivate Umno members nearing GE15.

Speaking on behalf of the former premier, Nooryana says her father wanted her to visit Perlis to give the state BN chapter a much-needed morale boost.

“When I met Najib, he was disappointed over what happened at Arau (parliamentary constituency). He doesn’t like to hear news about party members being at odds with each other.

“Remember even when Najib was facing court cases, he never sidelined the party and had always defended Umno.

“It’s because he believes Umno made us who we are. Remember we became ministers and chief ministers to help our constituents due to Umno,” she says.

After being dropped as a BN candidate for the Arau parliamentary constituency, its incumbent Shahidan Kassim is now contesting the seat under the Perikatan Nasional ticket.

Anwar scoffs at Khairy’s ‘future PM’ plan

4.30pm: PKR president Anwar Ibrahim asks if BN's candidate for Sungai Buloh, Khairy Jamaluddin has Umno’s support to become prime minister in the future.

"Umno never declared backing him to become the prime minister one day. As for myself, I did not declare I am the PM candidate just because I want to be one. I only made the announcement after (Harapan) component parties supported me.

"This is no child’s play. This is the prime minister post," he tells the media at a dialogue session in Kuala Lumpur today, adding Harapan’s candidate R Ramanan would win the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat.

Last night, Khairy pledged to the Sungai Buloh parliamentary constituents that he will become Umno president and premier one day - if he wins the seat.

Pahang BN to unveil ‘realistic’ manifesto by Friday

4.30pm: Pahang BN will launch its manifesto for GE15 by Friday, says state BN chief Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.

The caretaker Pahang menteri besar said the manifesto, which is based on the initiatives contained in the 2023 state budget, was in the final evaluation process.

"Pahang's BN manifesto is realistic, and will even complement the state budget. As with BN’s tradition, our manifesto is an offer that can be implemented instead of promising the stars and the moon," he says.

Wan Rosdy says this to reporters after attending the Kenduri Rakyat (people’s feast) programme that took place at the Lepar people’s service centre in Gambang today.

It was also attended by incumbent Paya Besar MP and BN candidate Mohd Shahar Abdullah.

According to Wan Rosdy, the manifesto can also be used to improve Pahang 2023 Budget should BN continue to be given the mandate after GE15.

The state budget was tabled on Oct 7 and approved on Oct 13, a day before the dissolution of the Pahang state legislative assembly.

Police confirm report lodged over alleged defamatory post on Saravanan

4.10pm: Perak police have received a report regarding an alleged defamatory social media posting on BN candidate for the Tapah parliamentary seat M Saravanan, says state police chief Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri.

"The report was lodged by a 47-year-old man at the Tapah police station at about 6pm yesterday after reading the comments on Tiktok and Facebook.

"The case is being investigated under Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998," he says in a statement.

Yusri advises that all flags, banners, posters and leaflets and social media postings must not contain any elements that tend to incite, humiliate people and disrupt public order.

"Action will be taken under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Sections 500/504/505 of the Penal Code or any other laws as appropriate against those who do so," he added.

Meanwhile, Yusri says 11 police reports had been received since yesterday related to GE15 and that three investigation papers have been opened so far.

He says the police had also approved permit applications for 159 ceramahs (political rallies) throughout the state while three ceramahs were found to be held without permits.

As KL residents bemoan LRT disruption, Wee attends a BN get-together

3.40pm: Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong is currently at a BN "ramah mesra" (get-together) function in Ayer Hitam right now, together with caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

This was amid questions about where Wee was after the LRT line from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park was shut down for seven days.

Wee does not address the LRT matter in his speech at the event but instead, focuses on whipping up support for himself and Ismail Sabri.

His rival for the Ayer Hitam seat , Sheikh Omar Bagharib Ali in a statement questions if the MCA president was too busy campaigning to do his job as transport minister.

"I urge youths living in Kuala Lumpur who are from Ayer Hitam to send a message that rejects Wee in GE15," he says.

‘Backdoor policy’, Nga says over Perak BN’s ‘nominated rep’ plan

3.30pm: Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming lambasts the state BN’s plan to appoint representatives as state legislators, calling it a “backdoor” policy.

In a statement today, Nga says that such a policy will only undermine the parliamentary democracy and deprive voters’ of their rights.

“The most valuable part of democracy is that the people can decide who to rule the nation through a ballot in the general election, but now BN is doing the opposite.

“BN previously had already abolished the mayor and local government elections. Now they attempt to amend the state constitution by introducing a ‘backdoor’ policy through their manifesto.

“This is deeply shocking,” Nga says.

Pejuang’s Hulu Terengganu candidate resorts to online campaign

3.20pm: Pejuang candidate for Hulu Terengganu, Mohd Khadri Abdullah, opts to run his campaign on social media as he believes the approach would attract a wider audience and is more effective.

Khadri, who is a contractor, says he also did not have a large election machinery to help campaign for him.

"Suffice for me to campaign on social media because it is an effective platform for dissemination of information," he said when met by Bernama recently.

Despite being considered an “underdog” candidate, Khadri is enthusiastic and believes he stands a chance of winning the Hulu Terengganu parliamentary seat, considering the current political situation in the country.

“Everything can happen and there are always surprises...After all, it's easier to be an 'underdog' candidate because the focus of the competitors is not on me...this makes my work easier," he adds.

The contest for the Hulu Terengganu parliamentary seat will witness a four-way fight between Khadri, incumbent Rosol Wahid of PAS, BN candidate Rozi Mamat and Alias Ismail of Harapan.

Meanwhile, Rozi says he is not promising the more than 86,000 voters in the constituency the “moon and stars”, but to always be around to serve them.

With the slogan “Seng Kira, Mudoh Base” (easy to deal with and approachable), Rozi, who is also Telemong assemblyperson, says he promises to provide transparent and best service to the constituents.

"I am the assemblyperson for Telemong for four terms, which can be used by electors to gauge my performance, whether I serve them well or not,” he says, adding that he had brought various development to the constituency since he was elected there in 2004.

Rozi was the state youth and sports committee chairperson when Terengganu was under BN from 2011 to 2018.

Lim accepts Wee’s debate call over Penang airport expansion issue

2.45pm: DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng accepts MCA president Wee Ka Siong’s challenge to debate the delays in the Penang International Airport expansion project.

On Nov 7, FMT reported Wee as claiming that Lim is the one who should be blamed for the delay and was ready to debate the latter on it.

At a press conference, Lim presented a document on Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad’s (MAHB) planning permission (kebenaran merancang) to dismiss Wee’s statement that the BN government had approved the Penang International Airport expansion project in 2017, through Budget 2018.

Meanwhile, PN’s Tanjong candidate H’ng Khoon Leng also challenges his opponents Lim Hui Ying (Harapan) and Tan Kim Nee to have a debate yesterday.

Rashid pleaded for deputy speaker job - Anwar

1.50pm: Incumbent Batu Pahat MP Rashid Hasnon once cried and begged me for the deputy speaker position in the Dewan Rakyat, claims Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim.

In a ceramah in Batu Pahat last night, Anwar also calls Rashid a traitor for defecting from PKR to Bersatu, during the Sheraton Move in February 2020.

“ (I) support Rashid and he frog-jumped in betrayal. Useless, what sort of a human?

“He wanted a position, begged and cried for the deputy speaker position (but he) wasn’t satisfied (and) conspired to betray (us),” Anwar says, as reported by Berita Harian.

He added Rashid, who is defending the seat under the PN this time, should have integrity and not betray Batu Pahat voters who gave him the mandate in the last general election.

Electoral watchdog launches #VoteFuture campaign

11.30am: Electoral watchdog Bersih launches the #VoteFuture campaign to urge Malaysians to exercise their right to vote in order to determine their own future.

“With the #VoteFuture campaign, Bersih wants to challenge all Malaysians, especially the youth and first-time voters, to not allow others to decide the future for them but to take charge of their own destiny by voting.

“By not seizing the opportunity to vote in GE15, we are taking a gamble that the government elected will be the government we want - and that we will be happy with the future they will be shaping for us,” the coalition says in a press conference.

Democracy is only meaningful when there is mass participation by the citizens in the democratic processes, one of which is the election.

They then release a special short video that carries a message from all layers of Malaysian society, adding that they will release future-themed short videos and posters daily until polling day on Nov 19.

Bersih says they also want the public to amplify their message by posting about this campaign on their social media.

Nominated reps on the cards if BN wins Perak, Saarani says

10.45am: Perak BN announces plans to introduce nominated representatives to become state legislators by appointment instead of being voted into office.

If the coalition recaptures the state, Perak BN chairperson Saarani Mohamad says he pledges to amend the state constitution enactments to appoint assemblypersons from minority groups and youths.

In unveiling the Perak BN manifesto, Saarani explains that the amendment is part of BN’s effort to ensure political stability in the silver state.

READ MORE: Perak BN mulls introducing appointed reps in state assembly

‘I will talk to Ramanan on asset declaration’

9.30am: PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli says he will speak to Sungai Buloh candidate R Ramanan about the latter's asset declarations.

Cutting the PKR newcomer some slack, Rafizi says fully itemising all assets does not come naturally to everyone.

"Some candidates are new, Ramanan is one of them, so I'm not surprised that it doesn't come as naturally to him as it is to me. To itemise everything, explain everything" he tells reporters after a ceramah last night.

Ramanan had declared a net RM63.5 million in assets, including RM4 million in jewellery but did not provide a detailed breakdown, as required by the party.

He dismissed criticism about the lack of transparency, saying voters were not interested in it.

Rafizi says asset declarations are meant to encourage voters to hold politicians accountable, and so that politicians don't abuse their positions to gain wealth.

Singer apologises to DAP and Malaysians

9am: Malay pop singer and actor Jamal Abdillah apologises to DAP and Malaysians for spreading misinformation.

In a Tiktok video yesterday, Jamal says he made allegations based on conversations with friends and admits he was not politically savvy.

"I have 'spun' an issue without proper understanding. As a Malaysian, I don't want such things to happen," he says.

This was in reference to a previous video in which he accused DAP of closing down tahfiz schools, preventing surau from reciting the azan and supporting the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

That video led to numerous netizens correcting him and accusing him of slander. Some netizens in Penang also recorded videos of the azan clearly being heard during prayer times.

Shamsul to ask for cabinet position if Anwar becomes PM

7am: Pakatan Harapan's Bagan Datuk candidate Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin says he will ask to be appointed to the cabinet if Anwar Ibrahim becomes the prime minister, Utusan Malaysia reports.

"If Anwar becomes prime minister, I will ask him to appoint me as a minister so there can be more development in Bagan Datuk," he is quoted as saying yesterday.

Shamsul reportedly says the public infrastructure and amenities in the parliamentary constituency are poorly managed, particularly those under the purview of the Teluk Intan Municipal Council (MPTI).

He proposes that Bagan Datuk should become an administrative district with its own district council, rather than fall under MPTI's administration.

Day 4 | Perak DAP modifies billboard after getting complaints

Day 3 | Umno sacks 4 for running in GE against party’s candidates

Day 2 | Debate on flood on the cards

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