National Professors Council fellow Azmi Hassan said the conflict between Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh and DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok, which has escalated into legal proceedings, may lead to disillusionment among the community’s voters and make them less inclined to take part in the by-election.
Azmi pointed out that this tendency was evident in the Sungai Bakap by-election in July, where Pakatan Harapan suffered a significant defeat because of the low turnout from Chinese voters.
“It would be a setback for Umno if this happens again, but it would also provide an opportunity for MCA to demonstrate its ability to attract non-Malay voters amid potential protests from PH voters,” he told FMT.
MCA president Wee Ka Siong has been actively engaging with Chinese voters in the area alongside BN candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah.
Azmi said strong support by Chinese voters for Syed Hussien would indicate some level of success for MCA and showcase its importance to BN.
Recently, Kok threatened to sue Akmal for allegedly defaming her in a TikTok video in relation to a proposal for mandatory halal certification, which the Cabinet decided on Wednesday will not go through.
In the letter of demand sighted by FMT, Kok’s lawyer, SN Nair, said his client would seek RM25 million in damages from Akmal if he failed to comply with her demands. The letter accuses Akmal of deliberately exaggerating and/or maliciously distorting Kok’s statements with the intent to defame her.
The Seputeh MP is demanding that Akmal immediately retract his allegedly defamatory statements against her, remove them from his social media account, issue an apology, and agree not to repeat his comments against her.
Akmal said he is ready to face her in court.
Another analyst, Lau Zhe Wei, from International Islamic University Malaysia, believes that MCA or DAP’s machinery will not significantly benefit Syed Hussien’s campaign given that Umno’s grassroots support is already strong in the constituency.
“It’s enough for Umno to campaign alone,” he said, adding that it is unlikely that Chinese voters in the DAP-dominated Kluang constituency would support PN, even with the presence of Gerakan.
Lau said Chinese voters only have two options: vote for the government, or abstain from voting.
He also predicted a straightforward victory for Syed Hussien in a two-way contest against PN candidate Haizan Jaafar on Sept 28.
“So it doesn’t really matter whether MCA or DAP campaigns or not, Chinese votes will go to BN,” he said
“The outcome in Mahkota is fairly clear, so the government doesn’t need to offer many concessions to the people of Mahkota.”