Mahkota 'poison' letters will have no effect on Chinese voters: Zahid

MAHKOTA BY-ELECTION | BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said the distribution of letters urging Chinese voters to reject the coalition’s candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah will have no impact ahead of polling day.

According to Berita Harian, Zahid said all of the government’s component party machinery is working hard to rally voters to cast their ballots this Saturday.

“Yesterday, the matter (letters distribution) was raised to me by Johor menteri besar (Onn Hafiz Ghazi) because I spent the entire day in Mahkota.

“It was found that it had no impact and does not affect Chinese voters in Mahkota,” the deputy prime minister reportedly said at a press conference in Putrajaya.

On Saturday, Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi revealed that the letters written in Chinese - titled “A call to voters in the Mahkota by-election: We hope to see fair treatment for all people in Johor” - were allegedly placed in mailboxes of homes across several Chinese-majority areas in the constituency.

The letters were signed “The people of Kluang, Johor, and Pakatan Harapan supporter Lin Wei Jie”.

Wong accused Perikatan Nasional of masterminding the act, allegedly to discourage Chinese voters from voting and improve the chances of the opposition coalition’s candidate, Haizan Jaafar, against Syed Hussien.

Meanwhile, Zahid said there have been consistent efforts to ensure a high voter turnout, based on experience during the last Sungai Bakap by-election which saw a smaller percentage of Chinese voters voting.

“So, in Mahkota, we made joint efforts with all parties in government to ensure they (voters) return and vote this Sept 28,” he said.

Responding to Wong, Johor PN chief Dr Sahrudin Jamal yesterday said the claim had ill intentions and was done to cover-up allegedly strained ties between DAP and Umno.

Johor PN Youth election director Mohd Idzharruddin Nasirruddin, who dismissed the claim, also accused the DAP of being the real mastermind behind the letter in an alleged attempt to threaten Umno.

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