MALACCA voters will reject PAS and likely its allies in the state elections tomorrow because of the Islamist party’s recent ban on gambling and alcohol sale restrictions in Kedah.

They do not want similar curbs to be imposed in Malacca by the new government, especially one with PAS in it.

They warned Bersatu could also suffer in the elections as a result of being in the same pact with PAS.

PAS is in alliance with Bersatu and Gerakan under the Perikatan Nasional banner, with the pact challenging in all 28 state seats. Bersatu will contest 15 seats, PAS eight and Gerakan five.

A voter, who wished to be known as May, said PAS is a liability to Muhyiddin Yassin-led PN.

“Even if we wanted to vote for Muhyiddin’s Bersatu, we are now deterred by the fact that PAS is with them.

“We will reject PAS at all costs for what it is doing. PAS is a burden to Muhyiddin and PN,” the 43-year-old voter from Peringgit Jaya told The Malaysian Insight.

Over the weekend, the PAS-led Kedah government announced that it will ban all 4D outlets to curb gambling.

Menteri Besar Sanusi Md Nor said the state will not renew the business licences of these outlets, that are issued by local authorities.

He said the state government will also curtail the sale of alcohol in the state’s rural areas.

Malacca will be go to the polls tomorrow.

Most of the voters interviewed by The Malaysian Insight shared the same sentiment.

A voter from Bemban, who wanted to be known as Lim, 60, called PAS a racist party which did not respect the rights of other races.

“PAS is a racist party. They should respect other races and religions but they don’t.

“A vast majority of non-Muslim voters here will reject PAS in this elections for what they have been,” the 60-year-old said.

Lim asked why ban a business that has been paying taxes.

“This is a business and they pay their taxes. Genting is also a place to gamble. Why not close down Genting?” he asked, adding that Malaysia would progress if not for such politically motivated stunts.

Arrogant PAS

Another voter, Puvan, 59, from Ayer Keroh, said people will vote out PAS as they will not want an extremist party to be part of the new government.

He said what PAS did in Kedah would trigger anger among many people, and that anger could be seen in Malacca.

“If PAS comes to power, they might bring in issues that are sensitive.

“The Kedah-led PAS government had earlier cancelled the Thaipusam holiday, and now they banned 4D gambling. It shows they don’t bother about the rights of others. We don’t want this in a diverse and multi-racial Malacca.

“Earlier people didn’t want to come out and vote because of the fear of Covid-19 but now, people will come out to vote just to ensure PAS doesn’t win here and so that they don’t suffer the same fate as Kedahans,” he said.

Bong, 63, a voter from Paya Rumput, said he would reject Bersatu’s candidate because of the PAS connection.

Bong said he would vote for any other party that was not associated with PAS.

“I personally will not give PAS or PN a chance. They are real trouble-makers and are very arrogant.

“See those PAS ministers in the cabinet. When they are in the government, they break rules, they do things to disrupt harmony.

“So why should we give them a chance? They will never fight for the non-Malays,” the construction worker said.

There will be a five-way battle for the Paya Rumput seat; the contenders are Barisan Nasional’s Rais Yassin, Pakatan Harapan’s Shamsul Iskandar, Bersatu’s Faris Izwan Mazlan, Putra’s Mohamad Hashidi Mohd Zin, and Independent Mohd Jaini Dimon.

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Political expediency

Allan, 41, who will cast his vote in Ayer Keroh, said some would continue supporting PAS regardless of what its leaders have done.

But he said PAS and parties associated with it have lost the support of  non-Muslims.

“If PAS becomes part of the newly formed government, sooner or later they will start introducing and implementing their agenda.

“So I won’t vote for them,” he said.

Allan added that PAS would do anything that was politically expedient, including practise racial discrimination.

He said PAS’ stunt could be seen from the way they constantly changed their support for political survival.

“We gave them a chance in the 13th general election, when they were with PKR and DAP as Pakatan Rakyat, but now no. People are fed up with them for always jumping ship just to secure their political place.

“I’m not racist but when we vote for them, they don’t respect us.

“This is multi-racial country but they are always trying to impose and force their rules on others,” he said.

A voter who wanted to be known as Yamin, from Ayer Molek, said that he was glad to see Umno was not cooperating with PAS in the elections.

He said Umno would face a backlash from non-Muslims for the problems the Islamist party had created if it was.

“In BN, we respect all races and religions and that is proven till today.

“What PAS did will surely have an effect but luckily Umno or BN will not face it. Let PN handle them,” the shop owner said.

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said the Umno-PAS clashes in the upcoming state polls does not mean that the two parties cannot work together in GE15.

However, Yamin as a voter had a contrasting view. He said that Umno should see things as a whole and not only focus on Malay votes.

“They (Umno-PAS) can work together but they will most likely be sidelined by the non-Muslims.

“These (non-Muslims) will then vote for the opposition, which will not be good news for Umno and BN.

“We have already seen that the majority of the non-Muslims had rejected BN and PAS in the last GE. We don’t want similar things to happen in the next GE,” he said. – November 19, 2021.