YONG PENG: Johor is an opportunity for Chinese voters to send a message to DAP over the failure of the party to deliver on its promises after entering the Federal Government, says former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.
He cited the expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST), the implementation of e-invoicing and the failure of DAP to abolish the Sedition Act as examples of policies and unfulfilled pledges that had disappointed voters.
"This is ground zero for me. For the Chinese community. I want to see the revival of MCA together with us," he said on Wednesday (July 8).
He was speaking while campaigning for Barisan Nasional incumbent Ling Tian Soon during the "Jom Lepak Lepak Bersama Khairy Jamaluddin" session at Ah Soon Station in Taman Seri Bayu.
He described Yong Peng as "ground zero" in the efforts of Barisan to regain Chinese support.
Khairy also criticised DAP for practising double standards by repeatedly portraying Barisan as corrupt while later working with the coalition to form the Federal Government.
"On the ceramah stage they shout 'Barisan sakau (plundering)'. But when it came to forming the government, they came looking for Barisan too," he said.
Khairy then turned to what he described as three key claims being pushed by Pakatan Harapan in the final days of campaigning.
The first, he said, was an attempt to frighten Chinese voters by claiming that a vote for Barisan would ultimately benefit PAS.
"This is Pakatan's dirty tactic. They are trying to scare Chinese voters by saying 'if you vote for Barisan Nasional, you will get PAS,'" he said, adding that the allegation was baseless as Barisan was contesting all 56 state seats on its own.
Instead, he pointed to remarks by Pakatan leader Dr Maszlee Malik, who had said the coalition was prepared to work with other parties if necessary to form the state government.
Khairy then took aim at another claim raised by the opposition, which suggested that a Barisan victory in Johor would pave the way for the release of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from prison.
"Why do they keep bringing up Najib? Winning or losing in Johor has absolutely nothing to do with him," he said, noting that royal pardons are determined by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and not the state administration.
With polling day just days away, Khairy urged Barisan supporters to stop playing defence and actively fight back against these narratives.
Khairy, who recently rejoined Umno as an ordinary member after previously being sacked, said he hoped Johor would ignite a "Blue Wave" that would spread to Negri Sembilan and Melaka before carrying into the next general election.
