Wednesday May 8, 2013

GE13: Many factors caused swing, say Umno duo

By ISABELLE LAI
isabellelai@thestar.com.my

Khairy Jamaluddin

PETALING JAYA: Stop pointing fingers and playing the race card in the aftermath of the general election, said Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

Khairy, who is Umno Youth chief, called for calm emotions to lead the way and said no one should “jump the gun and blame one community”.

He also urged leaders to speak out against any person trying to racialise matters.

“Cool heads must prevail in the next couple of weeks. There are too many emotions running wild and it is important we do not escalate the situation,” he said.

The Rembau MP stressed that it was not just the Chinese who had swung to the Opposition in GE13, pointing out that the swing had occurred in urban areas.

He said many factors had caused the swing, including core issues that transcended race.

Umno supreme council member Saifuddin, who lost his Temerloh seat, urged people not to racialise the results as he believed the electorate had not voted based on racial sentiment.

He said people had instead voted based on what he termed as “developmental hopes” which was prioritising issues such as infrastructure and welfare.

"Meanwhile, others had voted based on 'democratic hopes' where they are concerned about issues like freedom, human rights, fairness and good governance," he said.

Social entrepreneur Anas Zubedy, who started a campaign called #SaySomethingNice following the polls, urged people to ignore any racist posts or statements they see on social media.

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said it was incorrect and improper to only blame the Chinese for not supporting Barisan Nasional and being ungrateful.

“In Terengganu, with over 95% Malay voters, support for the Opposition has also increased,” he said in a statement.

He added that Gerakan supported the Prime Minister's call for national reconciliation based on moderation and inclusiveness.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

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Wednesday May 8, 2013

GE13: Many factors caused swing, say Umno duo

By ISABELLE LAI isabellelai@thestar.com.my

By ISABELLE LAI
isabellelai@thestar.com.my