By Clara Chooi HULU SELANGOR, April 16 — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today that initial responses from the people of Hulu Selangor show that the Barisan Nasional’s candidate P. Kamalanathan was well accepted.
“He may be a new face to the people here but from feedback that we have gotten from our people on the ground, Kamalanathan has been accepted well,” he told a press conference after the ground-breaking ceremony of SJKC Bukit Tangga in Bukit Sentosa here.
Muhyiddin said that by fielding Kamalanathan, the BN was listening to the people’s voice.
“They have said to us that they want a new and fresh face. It is the voice of the majority of the people here. So we have given the people what they want.
“We believe in people first so no, we put their needs first. The early response so far has been positive,” he said.
He pointed out that Kamalanathan, the MIC information chief who is also a public relations manager, had a good and clean background.
“He is honest and he has a good background. We believe that our candidate is by far, much better than the PKR’s,” he said.
Muhyiddin said that after nomination tomorrow, Kamalanathan would embark on an exhausting journey to every nook and cranny of the largest constituency in Selangor, to introduce himself to the people and “show his face”.
He noted that the BN would embark on an “offensive” approach to their campaigning, instead of a defensive approach.
“We have received information that they (the opposition) plan to bring issues into this campaign; issues that are actually untruths.
“We are here to explain to the people. We will take the bull by its horns because we have the right information and we will not play up issues that are not true. We will speak the truth... we are not a party that twists things out of control and tell lies. This is the stand that we will take,” he said.
Muhyiddin noted that the moment the campaign clock begins running tomorrow, the opposition would likely bring issues like the government’s so-called links to Israel’s Zionist regime by hiring international firm Apco Worldwide.
“Yes, we know of all this. They will use it, no doubt. But we will give our explanations to the people. There are many things that I would like to answer to now but we do not have the time. However, during the campaign sessions, we will answer to them,” he said.
Muhyiddin also raised the topic of the Cabinet’s inter-faith committee and the voices of dissent from state muftis such as Perak’s Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria.
“We have met with the muftis and it looks like they are satisfied with out explanations.
“They are merely giving us their feedback and we will respond to them positively. We will take in the views of the non-Muslims and the Muslims. At this point however, we are still studying just how much changes we need to make to the present situation.
“We do not want to give out a negative view to the public,” he said.
Noting the sensitivity of the issue, Muhyiddin said the matter had to be tackled carefully.
“One thing is for certain though — whatever the BN does, it is from our goodwill and our wish to take care of the people’s needs. We are not here to speak ill of others. That is what the opposition does — they turn what is right into a wrong,” he said.
The Cabinet’s inter-faith committee first meeting was called off on Monday, following a misunderstanding over Muhyiddin’s words who was wrongfully quoted as calling the panel as mere “small fry”.
Certain quarters, including the newly-formed Malay rights group Perkasa, have voiced disagreement over the formation of such a panel, expressing fears that it would make the Islam religion on the same level as the other religions.
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