Melaka Election: Anwar in Bukit Baru Rejects Racial Hatred and Questions PAS and UMNO Over Malay Welfare

BUKIT BARU, November 12: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appeared in Bukit Baru on Thursday night accompanied by Pakatan Harapan candidates and rejected what he called the incitement of hatred and racial politics by opposing parties, two days before polling in the 16th Melaka state election.

In a post shared on X shortly after midnight on Friday, Anwar wrote in Malay: “In Bukit Baru, I was present accompanied by HARAPAN candidates and stressed our stand in rejecting the incitement of hatred and racial politics that continues to be played by the opposing parties.” The post came with four photographs.

The photographs show Anwar, in a white shirt, speaking into a microphone on a stage under a tent, in front of a red backdrop marked Melaka Rumah Kita. Others stand beside him, including a man in a red shirt labelled Harapan Ayer Keroh. In another picture he points from the stage towards a seated crowd as cameras record the event. A third shows him signing an item for supporters, and a fourth shows him seated and speaking with a young girl in a red shirt and hijab.

Anwar went on to accuse PAS and UMNO of stoking hatred against the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the name of protecting the Malays. “The problem is, you are the ones who have held power for decades. Why didn’t you look after the Malays?” he wrote. “Who was responsible for the 1MDB scandal? Was it DAP that managed Tabung Haji and FELDA when the problems at both institutions arose?”

He said the core issue was trust, or amanah. “When leaders abuse their power to rob the people’s money, Malays, Chinese and Indians all bear the consequences,” he wrote. Melaka, he said, needed good, honest and trustworthy representatives, whether Malay, Chinese or Indian. “Reject leaders who, when they see the people’s money, immediately want to steal it. I believe the people of Melaka will dare to punish those who betray that trust, regardless of their party or race.” He ended by asking voters to choose Harapan’s candidates for Melaka.

A scheduled stop on the campaign trail

Anwar’s post does not name the venue or the candidates who accompanied him. Earlier on Thursday, Malay Mail, citing Bernama, said his evening itinerary included the Melaka Rumah Kita programme at the Hang Tuah Jaya parliamentary service centre in Bukit Baru, after stops in Taman Krubong Jaya, Kampung Machap Baru and Ayer Molek. Business Today, reporting the same schedule, said the Bukit Baru programme was listed for 9.15pm under the name Jelajah Harapan Melaka Rumah Kita. The photographs of a Melaka Rumah Kita stage event are consistent with that programme, but LNA has not independently confirmed the start time.

The Bukit Baru appearance followed Anwar’s earlier walkabouts at Taman Krubong Jaya, where he met hawkers with Harapan’s Paya Rumput candidate, Datuk Azman Abidin, and at the Kampung Machap Baru night market, where he backed Harapan’s Machap Jaya candidate, Datuk Ginie Lim Siew Lin. LNA has reported both of those stops. Anwar also posted separately on Thursday night about an earlier campaign visit to Ayer Molek.

Final days before polling

The Election Commission (SPR) has set Saturday, November 14, as polling day, with 687,697 registered voters eligible to cast ballots in all 28 state seats. Malay Mail reported that Pakatan Harapan is contesting 24 of the 28 seats, followed by Barisan Nasional with 23 candidates, Parti Bersama Malaysia with 16, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia with seven, Perikatan Nasional with five and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia with one. Three independent candidates are also standing.

Anwar chairs Pakatan Harapan and is also president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). His Bukit Baru post is a campaign message from the coalition’s chairman. It does not announce any policy. LNA will continue to report campaign events and statements from all sides in the run-up to polling day.

Life News Agency is reporting from Anwar’s own X post, supplemented by published reports from Malay Mail and Business Today.

About The Author

LNA MY

See author's posts