Samy Vellu: 70 Umno seats at risk without non-Malays support
By G. Manimaran and Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider
Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu has warned Umno that it cannot win at least 70 federal seats without the support of non-Malays in the next general election, contradicting the opinion of a Malay leader.
The MIC president’s angry reaction came after Titiwangsa Umno’s acting chief Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said the dominant party in Barisan Nasional (BN) did not need the support of Chinese and Indian voters.
“How can he say the Umno does not need Chinese and Indian support. Without Chinese and Indians support BN cannot win in almost 70 constituencies,” said the former Sungai Siput MP (picture), who had also highlighted the fact that he had won the seat in 1990 due to the support of Malay voters.
The former Works Minister said Johari was insensitive, adding the Umno leader should not be a politician in the first place.
“In fact, Indians votes will be crucial for BN in the next GE,” he told reporters here.
During a speech at a private function broadcasted on YouTube.com, Johari was reported as saying that Titiwangsa Umno does not need Chinese and Indian votes if 70 per cent of the voters are Malays.
MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had also demanded the Titiwangsa Umno leader to retire from politics.
Several other Umno leaders, especially from the Federal Territory, had agreed that Johari’s comment can affect support from Chinese and Indian voters toward BN in the future.
They said this meant that BN will find it difficult to win areas where non-Malay voters make up to about 20 to 30 per cent of the electorate.
