DAP’s Buntong candidate Thulsi claims BN leaders have lost confidence in coalition

IPOH, Nov 7 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate M. Thulsi Thivani from DAP today claimed that Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates had lost confidence in their own coalition.

Referring to BN’s Sungai Buloh candidate Khairy Jamaluddin’s statement that “one vote for me is one vote for KJ”, Thulsi said it showed that BN candidates were banking on their own track record for votes.

“Khairy was a good minister. But during Nomination Day, he said, ‘One vote for KJ is one for KJ’. He didn’t say, ‘One vote for KJ is one vote for BN’.

“Why we should vote for BN and MIC when their own candidates don’t have confidence in their coalition. We should not be voting for them,” she said when campaigning with DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and DAP vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran at the Taman Mas GP Food Court here.

Thulsi said that PH and DAP candidates believe in their coalition and party as they know they can deliver on their promises.

On Saturday, Khairy said that voting for him would secure Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s spot as BN’s candidate for prime minister.

The caretaker health minister said this to counter the Opposition’s recent election mantra that one vote for Khairy is the same as one vote for Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the narrative needs to change since Ismail Sabri had been named as prime minister by Umno leader Zahid himself.

Thulsi then went on to slam incumbent for Buntong A. Sivasubramaniam, who is a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) member contesting under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner, for not being loyal to a party.

“PN claims that they are a stable coalition and can form a stable government, but PN has highest number of ‘frogs’,” she said, referring to candidates who defected from other parties.

“We also have one ‘frog’ contesting the Buntong seat. Do we want to give our votes to such a person?

“We don’t need people who don’t have principles, integrity and loyalty. We need people who are loyal to the people and the party. Leaders like Kit Siang and M. Kulasegaran have been loyal to the party and have been serving the people.”

Thulsi appeared to be referring to incumbent Sivasubramaniam, who contested the Buntong seat in the previous election on a DAP ticket, before joining Bersatu after defecting from a few parties.

The Buntong state seat will be hosting a five-cornered fight in GE15.

The contestants are Thulsi (PH), Sivasubramaniam (PN), Ipoh City councillor S. Jayagopi from MIC (BN) and independent candidates Iruthiyam Sebastiar Anthonisamy and Muhammad Faiz Abdullah.

Malaysians will go to the polls on November 19.