By Adib Zalkapli (Malaysian Insider)
KUALA KUBU BARU, April 18 – The PKR and its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners’ are targeting Chinese and Indian voters with different campaign messages in Hulu Selangor race, focusing on linking Barisan Nasional (BN) backbone Umno to various incidents that has offended both communities.
There appeared to be no mention of public communications consultant, APCO Worldwide or allegation of government’s “Jewish links” in the leaflets targeted at the non-Malay voters.
PKR candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim went on his first walkabout yesterday afternoon here where party workers were seen distributing leaflets in Mandarin and Tamil. Both communities form less than 50 per cent of the 64,500 voters in the Hulu Selangor federal seat.
One of the leaflets published by PKR shows Datuk Ibrahim Ali waving his keris with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Perkasa inaugural assembly last month.
It also contains newspaper reports of various racist remarks allegedly made by Selangor Umno deputy chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar, former special officer to the prime minister Datuk Nasir Safar and former Bukit Bendera Umno chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail.
“Umno is extremist and cannot change,” reads the message on the leaflet.
It also questions the BN leaders’ commitment to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia, which was introduced to promote unity when he took office in April 2009.
The PR campaign also tried to drive a wedge between Najib and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, suggesting that the latter is not supportive of 1 Malaysia in a leaflet published by the DAP.
A protest which saw critics of the Selangor government marching to the state secretariat with a bloody cow’s head – an act that offended the Hindu community – last year was also present in PKR’s campaign message.
The leaflet in Tamil also carries a picture of Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein meeting the protesters at his office.
Another leaflet points out the similarity between Zaid and 10th century Chinese politician, Fan Zhongyan who tried to institute reforms in the Song dynasty.
Missing from the leaflets were the allegations of supposed “Jewish links begun by Anwar who claimed that Najib’s 1 Malaysia was a carbon copy of Ehud Barak’s One Israel.
The opposition has been repeating the allegation at all public rallies held in Malay-majority area.
As of last night, the PR parties’ campaign secretariat had yet to publish leaflets in Malay.