Gerakan to contest Kuala Kubu Baharu, says president

Gerakan president Dominic Lau said the outcome of the by-election would show the government that it has so far been unable to resolve local issues.

PETALING JAYA: Gerakan will contest the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election on May 11, says its president, Dominic Lau.

At a press conference today, Lau said the party will inform the Perikatan Nasional Supreme Council of its decision at the meeting on Monday.

“(The by-election in) Kuala Kubu Baharu has become a referendum to show the people’s dissatisfaction with the unity government.

“The government claims that it has done a lot of work and taken care of the rakyat. The opposition says many issues affect the people of Kuala Kubu Baharu, such as the rising cost of goods and the falling ringgit. Many issues have gone unresolved.

“The government says it is good and able, but we say the people face hardship. Let this by-election be a referendum to show that Pakatan Harapan is unable to implement what they have promised the rakyat,” he said.

Lau said the outcome of the by-election would not result in a change of government but would show the unity government that it has so far been unable to resolve local issues.

“This is a fight, not just between PN and PH, but between Gerakan and DAP. We want to show DAP that the Chinese vote does not belong to DAP. We will campaign to the best of our ability, whether the candidate comes from Gerakan or not, to win for PN,” he said.

It was previously reported that Bersatu and Gerakan are competing to represent PN in Kuala Kubu Baharu, with each party lobbying to field a Malay candidate.

Both parties are out to garner the support of the Malay majority in the Selangor state constituency.

According to a PN source, Gerakan wants to field Muniraa Abu Bakar, who previously contested the Bukit Lanjan seat in the state election in August. She was defeated by Pakatan Harapan’s Pua Pei Ling by a 41,227-vote majority.

In the August polls, Gerakan candidate Henry Teoh lost the Kuala Kubu Baharu seat to DAP’s Lee Kee Hiong by a 4,119-vote majority. Lee, who had held the seat since 2013, died last month after a battle with cancer.

The source said Bersatu is proposing to field Hulu Selangor acting chief Khairul Azhari Saut for the by-election.

PAS, which currently holds the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat as well as the Hulu Bernam state seat, will be sitting out this by-election.