DAP to field Malay candidate for Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election?

DAP leaders at the party’s congress in 2022. A DAP source says the party’s present concern is whether Perikatan Nasional will field a non-Malay candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.

PETALING JAYA: DAP is likely to field a Malay candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election next month, according to a well-placed source from the party.

The source said Hulu Selangor Municipal Council member Saripah Bakar was currently in the lead to represent Pakatan Harapan on May 11.

“The party is expected to field a Malay candidate as of now due to the high percentage of Malay voters,” the source who asked to remain anonymous told FMT.

Kuala Kubu Baharu is a mixed seat, with Malays comprising 50% of the electorate, followed by Chinese (30%) and Indians (18%).

The state seat has been represented by an ethnic Chinese assemblyman since 2004, with the incumbent for the last three terms being Lee Kee Hiong of DAP, who recently passed away from cancer.

When Lee wrested the seat from MCA in 2013, Chinese voters made up 43% compared with 33% of Malay voters. However, the Malay electorate has outnumbered Chinese voters since 2018.

The source said Saripah was more popular among the grassroots than others whose names were being bandied about. However, the source did not name the other potential candidates for the seat.

When contacted, Saripah said, “Let’s wait for a decision and announcement from the party.”

Another source from DAP said the party’s present concern was whether Perikatan Nasional (PN) would field a non-Malay candidate, saying that naming an Indian candidate would make it “a tough battle for us”.

He said the Malays would continue to back the opposition regardless of its candidate, while the Indians would be the kingmakers as fewer Chinese voters come out to cast their ballots in by-elections.

A DAP assemblyman who did not wish to be named recently told FMT that the party would need to secure at least 60% of the Indian vote if it wished to emerge victorious.

He said the Indian community was likely to tip the scales for either candidate, with Malay voters divided and Chinese voters likely to go with DAP.

On Tuesday, Hulu Selangor Bersatu claimed that the majority of voters in Kuala Kubu Baharu wanted PN to field a Malay candidate in the upcoming by-election.

Meanwhile Gerakan has said a Malay party member was among five who had been shortlisted by the party as a possible candidate for PN.

On April 1, Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia told FMT that communal sentiments could cost DAP victory in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election if it fielded a Malay candidate.