Wong Kah Woh: BN and PAS Have an 'Ambiguous' Relationship in Johor Polls, but Are 'Hand in Hand' in Negeri Sembilan Polls

(Johor Bahru, 26th) Taiping MP Wong Kah Woh pointed out that the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections are not only related to the political situation in both states, but will also have far-reaching impacts on the national political landscape. He claimed that Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Islamic Party (PAS) have grown increasingly close, attempting to consolidate the Malay vote to defeat Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the elections.

He said that while the two parties still maintained an 'ambiguous' relationship during the Johor state election, they are now 'hand in hand' and interacting openly on the same stage in the Negeri Sembilan state election, which reflects a trend of cooperation between both sides.

Wong Kah Woh made these comments in his speech at the 'DAP 60th Anniversary Dinner' hosted by the Kampar DAP Division at the Pei Yuan Independent High School auditorium in Kampar on Saturday night (July 26).

He noted that BN and PAS's strategy is to consolidate Malay votes, hoping that relying solely on Malay votes would be sufficient to win the election. Therefore, the public must pay attention to this political development.

Regarding the recent remarks by Kedah Chief Minister Dato' Seri Muhammad Sanusi—"The Chinese have China, the Indians have India; what do the Malays have?"—Wong criticized those comments as stoking racial sentiment, implying that ethnic Chinese and Indians should "go back to China or India if they are unhappy."

He said that DAP Deputy Chairman Nga Kor Ming immediately responded publicly, stressing that Malays, Chinese, Indians, as well as Ibans, Kadazans, Dusuns and Dayaks, are all children of Malaysia, and all equally hold Malaysian identification cards. No one should challenge the status of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia.

Wong Kah Woh also named MCA President Dato' Seri Wee Ka Siong, saying that he did not respond for two days after the remarks were made, until pressed by the media, when he called for Sanusi to clarify his statement to avoid the situation escalating.

He said the DAP chooses to directly criticize erroneous remarks, rather than humbly asking the other party to clarify, and this is the fundamental difference between DAP and MCA in tackling racial issues.

He also quoted Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar's response, pointing out that the PM has clearly stated that Chinese, Malays, Indians, and all ethnic groups form the important foundation of Malaysia’s unity and strength.

Wong Kah Woh said that the Negeri Sembilan state election to be held on August 1st is crucial and will impact the future political trajectory of Malaysia, describing it as a key battle to curb the continued spread of the 'green wave.'

He called on voters to continue supporting PH, and candidly admitted that the unity government is not governed by a single party. All policies require negotiation and coordination between multiple parties, so there will inevitably be limitations in governance, and it is impossible for everything to be carried out fully in accordance with DAP’s wishes.

"Perhaps everyone feels that we are not doing perfectly or well enough, but the unity government is made up of multiple parties. We must keep coordinating and persisting in order to hold things together until now."

He stated that if PH cannot continue to govern, Malaysia may head towards extremism and regression in the future. Therefore, he hopes people will continue to support PH, jointly safeguarding Malaysia’s values of diversity, openness, and fairness, and building an inclusive Malaysia for all races.

As Deputy Minister of Education, Wong Kah Woh also pointed out that prior to the change of government in 2018, BN and MCA ruled for 60 years. Whether it was Pei Yuan Independent High School, Pei Nan Independent High School, Nan Hua Independent High School, or Yuk Chai Independent High School, they had never received institutionalized allocations from the central government; in 60 years of MCA rule, what the independent Chinese schools received could be described as "just one egg."

"By contrast, when DAP and Pakatan Harapan took office, their time in power was actually not long—22 months from 2018 to 2020, and 44 months from November 2022 to now, totaling 66 months. But in every tenure, the grants for independent Chinese high schools were automatically included in the fiscal budget."

He said that over the 66 months in power, the cumulative grant for independent Chinese schools nationwide has exceeded RM103 million.