A CHANGE of fate often comes with a change of tune as Najib Razak urged voters to reject Pakatan Harapan for some “check and balance”.

“You may not be able to change the state government this time, but you can send a message to Pakatan Harapan that you don’t want to be cheated by the sweet promises it made during GE14,” said the former prime minister today in Semenyih, where campaigning for a by-election in the state seat begins on Saturday.

Najib, whose nine-year administration was marred by allegations of power abuse and attempts to block investigations into the misappropriation of funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd which he oversaw, said that Semenyih voters should not be fooled twice.  

PH won the seat in the 14th general election last year with a Bersatu candidate, whose death has prompted the by-election.

“Those who are fooled twice need their heads examined.

“We want the Indian community to realise their mistake in GE14 and correct that in this by-election.

“They are not PH, but PH tidak boleh diharap (are unreliable),” Najib said, singling out Indian voters at a Ponggal function organised by the Indian Progressive Front in Taman Bangi Jaya.

Najib, who will face his first trial of seven charges for corruption on Tuesday, played up his administration’s achievements and contrasted them with PH’s policy decisions.

He said some seven million people had received cash aid under Barisan Nasional’s BR1M, but PH had now cut it down to four million recipients.

“Before elections they promised to give RM2,000 like BN, but after winning they only want to give RM1,200. Even then, many don’t receive the money.

“You need to change so that there’s a check and balance in the government.”

Semenyih was a BN seat before it was lost for the first time in the 14th general elections last year.

The PH candidate, Bersatu’s Bakhtiar Mohd Nor, won by a margin of nearly 9,000 votes over Umno in a four-cornered fight that also included PAS and Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

The Semenyih by-election will be held on March 2.

Meanwhile, IPF president Senator M. Sambathan said his party will work with MIC to take back Semenyih.

“Many of us have realised after eight months that we cannot get any aid from PH. We should work with MIC to help BN recapture this seat,” said Sambathan.

IPF, a splinter party from MIC, has been trying for years to join BN but has consistently been blocked by MIC. – February 10, 2019.