Social media beat me, says Nong Chik

(The Star) – Former Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said he lost in the election due to allegations levelled against him and his family in cyberspace.

“It was not a Chinese tsunami’ but character assassination in the social media that caused my defeat to Nurul Izzah Anwar in Lembah Pantai,” Raja Nong Chik told a press conference here yesterday.

Looking rested and cheerful, Raja Nong Chik said he would never blame Chinese voters even though he lost heavily in a Chinese majority area.

“It was a culmination of a series of articles in online news portals and the Internet which disparaged me and my family that caused me to lose.

“They targeted my father, my daughter, and even accused me of bringing in phantom voters into Lembah Pantai,” he said.

Nurul Izzah received 31,008 votes, beating Raja Nong Chik with a majority of 1870 votes.

Raja Nong Chik said Nurul Izzah had falsely accused him of bringing in phantom voters into the constituency.

“At the end of the day, all these personal attacks probably influenced the fence sitters to vote against me,” he said. He will probably initiate legal action against Nurul Izzah.

Raja Nong Chik thanked the 29,000 people who voted for him.