KUALA KUBU BAHARU – As far as creativity goes, Perikatan Nasional (PN) wins hands down with its nomination day parade to kick off the by-election in the state seat here.
Spotted in their march towards the nomination centre at the Hulu Selangor Multipurpose Hall and Sports Complex were posters with the word “Refor-Mati” – a play on Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) iconic war cry “Reformasi”.
This appears to be a jab at the PH-led government’s alleged slow pace of promised institutional reforms after over a year in power.
The PN group, led by their leaders including chairman Tan Sri Muhhyiddin Yassin, secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, were more formally behaved as supporters paraded around, shouting “Refor-Mati” and other jibes at rivals PH to keep the fighting spirit alive.
Drawing amusement from the crowd were two men who carried heavy clusters of ubi kayu (tapioca roots), while shouting “Ubi Kayu Menteri!” (minister of tapioca).
This is in an apparent jab at Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, who earlier this month proposed Malaysians eat more tapioca as an alternative staple during rice supply shortages.
Although criticised by opposition supporters for his suggestion, Johari doubled down and even served tapioca among the delicacies at his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house.
PH, meanwhile, kept their nomination day march clean and stayed away from offensive remarks, sticking to plain slogans like “Lawan lawan”, “Kita Selangor”, and “Kekal Kuala Kubu” as they marched.
The nomination process which began at 9am, will last an hour.
While PH and PN have confirmed their candidates – Pang Sock Tao, 31, and Khairul Azhari Shut, 54, respectively – it remains to be seen if others will enter the race.
The Muda-Parti Sosialis Malaysia pact has opted to sit out this by-election.
The Kuala Kubu Baharu seat fell vacant with the death of incumbent assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong, 58, on March 21 due to cancer.
In the state election held in August last year, Lee won the seat with a 4,119-vote majority, defeating three other candidates from PN, Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Muda.
Polling day is set for May 11, with early voting scheduled for May 7. – April 27, 2024