POISON-PEN LETTERS URGING BOYCOTT OF MAHKOTA POLLS WILL NOT AFFECT BN - AHMAD ZAHID

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- The circulation of poison-pen letters urging Chinese voters to stay away from the Mahkota state by-election this Saturday will not affect the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, said BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The UMNO president said the entire machinery of the component parties within the Unity Government is working tirelessly to ensure all voters turn out to cast their ballots.

"Yesterday, I spent the entire day in the Mahkota constituency and this matter was brought to my attention by the Johor Menteri Besar (Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi).

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"It was found that this (circulation of these anonymous letters) has no influence and does not affect the Chinese voters in the Mahkota constituency," said Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Rural and Regional Development Minister.

He said this during a press conference after chairing the National TVET Council meeting and engagement session with 66 government-linked companies (GLCs) and private companies together with 12 TVET-related ministries here today.

Ahmad Zahid said various efforts are being made together with component parties to ensure voters, especially the Chinese community, come out to vote to avoid a repeat of the low voter turnout seen in the Sungai Bakap state by-election.

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This is because some voters live outside the Mahkota constituency, in areas such as the Mengkibol constituency or outside the Kluang district, with many working in Johor or Singapore, he added.

On Sept 21, Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi from DAP claimed that poison-pen letters were placed in mailboxes, asking Chinese voters to reject the Umno candidate, Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah.

She reportedly said that the letters, written in Chinese, were titled "An Appeal to Voters in the Mahkota By-election: We Hope to See Fair Treatment for All People in Johor."

-- BERNAMA