DESPITE Barisan Nasional’s advantage in fielding an Orang Asli candidate in the Cameron Highlands by-election, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) M. Managoran says the fight is still between the two coalitions and not individuals.

The DAP politician said senior ex-policeman Ramli Mohd Noor, an Orang Asli, will prove a difficult opponent in the federal seat with a sizeable number of Orang Asli voters. BN has also never lost the Cameron Highlands seat.

Manogaran, however, believes that voters will still see the by-election as a fight between the “Old Malaysia” under the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime and a “New Malaysia” that is anti-corruption.

“This by-election is a fight against corruption as it is a perfect opportunity for locals to make their stand against corruption,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“It will be tough as Ramli will be a difficult opponent, but I will also say it is not a contest of two individuals with our backgrounds, it is a contest between PH and BN.”

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang had also commented recently that Ramli’s candidacy posed a tough challenge to PH.

Orang Asli voters comprise some 22% of the Cameron Highlands electorate and are spread out across the seat in the deep interior.

The by-election on January 26 is being held after a special election court nullified the seat’s results in GE14 after finding evidence of bribery by the BN candidate, C. Sivarraajh.

Manogaran thanked Orang Asli leaders for taking a stand against the alleged corruption by testifying in court against Sivarraajh, who is MIC vice-president. He was found to have bribed Orang Asli voters in exchange for votes in the run-up to the general election on May 9 last year.

Manogaran, who contested against Sivarraajh, had filed an election petition after the polls.

“I want to thank the Orang Asli who testified in court. They are ready to be part of the government’s efforts to eradicate problems at different levels in the district,” he said.

“This will be a watershed election where we will prove that there can be a clean environment and a level playing field for all parties. No threats and no giving of money.

“People should come out and vote on their own free will,” said Manogaran, who was Teluk Intan MP for one term.

Ramli, a former assistant commissioner of police and a member of the Semai tribe, is being fielded as a “direct BN candidate” and is not representing any party of the former ruling coalition.

Besides Ramli and Manogaran, MyPPP president, M. Kayveas has announced his intention to contest the seat.

Candidates will file their nominations today.

Manogaran said Kayveas’ decision to run had made predictions for the by-election outcome even harder.

“Kayveas coming into the contest will break the votes further.

“We have two weeks from now till polling day, so a lot of things will be decided then, to see which way it goes,” he said.

Manogaran downplayed any advantage PH has as the federal government, rating his chances of winning as “very difficult”.

He said he will rely on the relationships he had built working with the Cameron Highlands community since 2013, where he stood in the 13th general election that year but lost to MIC’s G. Palanivel.

Manogaran said he had continued his political and community work in the seat since then despite losing, and again after losing to Sivarraajh in GE14.

In the last polls, there were 32,048 voters in Cameron Highlands. Besides 22% Orang Asli, other voters are Malays 34%, Chinese 30% and Indians 15%.

Manogaran lost by 597 votes to MIC’s Sivarraajh after picking up 9,710 votes against the latter’s 10,307 votes in a five-cornered fight.

In 2013, Manogaran lost by 462 votes to Palanivel, also in a five-cornered fight. – January 12, 2019.