Stay out of Nenggiri, Ku Li tells DAP

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has urged Umno's federal coalition partner DAP to stay out of the upcoming Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan, where the veteran politician is heading the campaign for a closely watched contest on Aug 17, more than a month after the government's disastrous performance in Sungai Bakap.

Razaleigh said there was no reason for the predominantly Chinese party to join the campaign in a constituency that is "100% Malay".

"Logically, what's the point of DAP coming to Malay areas?" the Umno adviser who, at one point was the country's longest serving MP, told MalaysiaNow. 

"They (DAP) are not even proficient in Malay."

Razaleigh, better known as Ku Li, also said that DAP's speeches were always veered towards the Chinese community.

"What's the point? They will be just wasting their time there, and wasting our time too. The Malays in Nenggiri want to hear from the Malays about the Malays there," he said.

Razaleigh's comments came as Kelantan DAP chief Azaha Abdul Rani launched the Pakatan Harapan (PH) election machinery for Nenggiri over the weekend, saying his party was prepared to camp out at Orang Asli areas throughout the campaign period to ensure that the community turned out to vote.

"Our target is for 90% of the over 2,700 Orang Asli to go out to vote on that day. As for the Malay voters, we leave it to Barisan Nasional (BN) and Amanah," Azaha was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

Can Rafizi come?

There has been speculation that Umno, which has been battling a decline in Malay support since the last general election due to the grassroots' rejection of its alliance with PH, had drawn up a list of ruling politicians who should stay out of BN's by-election campaign in Nenggiri.

Among those rumoured to be on the list is PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who was largely blamed for PH's defeat in Sungai Bakap against a backdrop of a series of government policies including the removal of diesel subsidies.

Asked about this, Razaleigh said he had not specifically banned the economy minister from campaigning for BN.

"I didn't say anything. I never stopped anyone. I just said there are certain people who should not come to campaign.

"In the case of DAP leaders, with 100% Malay voters there, no need to come," he said.

The by-election in Nenggiri, a seat in the Gua Musang federal constituency which Razaleigh represented for more than four decades, was called after the incumbent, Perikatan Nasional's Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, lost his Bersatu membership after defecting to the ruling bloc in violation of the party's constitution.

Nenggiri is the only seat held by defecting Bersatu members for which a by-election has been called, in keeping with the anti-hopping law passed in 2022.

Seven other seats – one state seat in Selangor and six parliamentary seats including Gua Musang, which Azizi also holds – were not declared vacant following controversial decisions by the respective speakers.

Azizi defeated BN in Nenggiri at last year's state election, a victory that came several months after he ousted Razaleigh from Gua Musang in the November 2022 general election.

Razaleigh declined to comment on Umno's chances in Nenggiri, saying he could only hope for victory.

"I don't want to pre-empt God," he quipped.

He also said Umno had not campaigned for PH in Sungai Bakap last month as it was not part of the by-election.

"PH's struggle is for something other than what we are fighting for, and that's what the Malays feel," he said, adding that the Malays would reject PH as long as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim lacks a Malay base.