CLAIMS by Umno and PAS leaders of an improved electoral performance in the Seri Setia by-election are just an excuse “to justify the MCA-Umno-PAS alliance”, DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang told youths at a dialogue in Skudai late this afternoon.

The Iskandar Puteri MP said the alliance will be at the expense of the Chinese as the “real intent of the unholy pact is purely for the selfish interests of Umno and PAS leaders”.

Lim was referring to a statement from a PAS leader that the party’s increased vote share in the by-election yesterday showed that it was worth exploring further cooperation between Barisan Nasional and PAS.

The PAS leader had also said that Pakatan Harapan’s popular vote had deteriorated.

Umno Wanita chief Noraini Ahmad, meanwhile, said that the doubling of votes for PAS from 4,563 votes in the May general election to 9,698 in the by-election was proof that Malays approved of the cooperation between Umno and the Islamist party.

“These are dishonest delusions by the PAS and Umno leaders as they are using different yardsticks when comparing the results of the two polls,” Lim said.

He said that the number of votes obtained by PAS candidate Dr Halimah Ali in the by-election should instead be compared with the total number of votes polled by both Umno and PAS candidates in the 14th General Election.

“The Umno leader was not being honest in claiming that the PAS candidate in Seri Setia, Dr Halimah Ali, had doubled the votes polled by the PAS candidate in the 14the General Election. Her vote should be compared against the total combined votes secured by the Umno candidate (9,878 votes) and the PAS candidate (4,563), in other words, a total of 14,441 votes.

“As PAS and Umno had jointly campaigned for voter support in the Seri Setia by-election, what Dr Halimah got was 9,698 out of 14,441 votes – or only two-thirds of what PAS and Umno polled in May.

“In fact, Dr Halimah’s vote share was less than the 9,878 votes secured by the Umno candidate in Seri Setia in the general election,” he said.

That, Lim said, raised the question as to why Umno had given way to PAS to contest in the by-election when the Umno candidate in May had obtained more than double the votes gotten by the PAS candidate.

Lim also pointed out that when the PAS leader claimed that PH’s showing had gone down, “he had simply ignored the fact that voter turnout had deteriorated from 84% to 44%”.

“The reason why Umno and Barisan Nasional was rejected by the electorate in the general election was because Umno and BN leaders had caused Malaysia to become a global kleptocracy, and in the four months after the election, the Umno and BN leaders, including MCA leaders had not made any apology for the 1MDB kleptocracy, showing that MCA-Umno-Barisan are not capable of reform to become honest and constructive opposition parties.”

Lim said, under such circumstances, it was curious that PAS leaders would advocate an alliance with Umno unless the party, under president Abdul Hadi Awang, is advocating for an Islamic kleptocracy. – September 9, 2018.