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Rafizi warns PKR at risk of losing Chinese vote ahead of GE16
5 hours ago
Elill Easwaran
The PKR deputy president cites internal data showing a 32% drop in support among Chinese voters and a 38% drop among Indian voters
5 hours ago
Elill Easwaran
The PKR deputy president cites internal data showing a 32% drop in support among Chinese voters and a 38% drop among Indian voters
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli said PH must be mindful of voter frustrations, especially among fence-sitters.
PETALING JAYA: PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has sounded the alarm over waning support for the party and Pakatan Harapan (PH) among Chinese voters, a shift which he said could cost key seats in the next general election (GE16).
Speaking at a campaign event in Kedah last night, Rafizi cited internal data showing that a growing number of Chinese voters who previously backed PH no longer intended to cast their ballots.
“We should be worried about Chinese supporters. Thirty-two percent of them said they won’t vote for PH or PKR. They won’t vote for Perikatan Nasional (PN), either. They just won’t come out,” he said without specifying the baseline for comparison.
Rafizi said the same problem was also emerging among Indian voters, with internal data showing a 38% drop in support for PH within the community.
The economy minister said PH must be mindful of voter frustrations and take meaningful action, especially with fence-sitters watching the unity government closely.
“If prices go up, we can’t go around saying ‘everything is fine’. If the cost of living is hurting people, we need to acknowledge it,” he added.
Rafizi also touched on recent by-election outcomes, saying the transfer of votes between PH and Barisan Nasional (BN), both part of the unity government, was not happening as expected.
“Umno voters are choosing PN. PH voters have supported BN in seats where it’s BN versus PN, but when it’s PH versus PN, BN voters go to PN.
“This shows that BN votes won’t automatically transfer to PH, even if PH and BN work together in the next general election,” he said.
Rafizi also defended the reliability of his internal polling, saying it offered clearer insight than third-party surveys like those by Merdeka Center.
“Merdeka Center didn’t predict the 2018 outcome. They said Najib Razak would win two-thirds. They don’t ask people who they’re voting for. We do,” he said.
In response to criticism over his open campaigning style, Rafizi said he preferred transparency to behind-the-scenes manoeuvring.
“This is better than meeting in hotels and telling branch leaders to bring 40 people for selfies,” he said.
Speaking at a campaign event in Kedah last night, Rafizi cited internal data showing that a growing number of Chinese voters who previously backed PH no longer intended to cast their ballots.
“We should be worried about Chinese supporters. Thirty-two percent of them said they won’t vote for PH or PKR. They won’t vote for Perikatan Nasional (PN), either. They just won’t come out,” he said without specifying the baseline for comparison.
Rafizi said the same problem was also emerging among Indian voters, with internal data showing a 38% drop in support for PH within the community.
The economy minister said PH must be mindful of voter frustrations and take meaningful action, especially with fence-sitters watching the unity government closely.
“If prices go up, we can’t go around saying ‘everything is fine’. If the cost of living is hurting people, we need to acknowledge it,” he added.
Rafizi also touched on recent by-election outcomes, saying the transfer of votes between PH and Barisan Nasional (BN), both part of the unity government, was not happening as expected.
“Umno voters are choosing PN. PH voters have supported BN in seats where it’s BN versus PN, but when it’s PH versus PN, BN voters go to PN.
“This shows that BN votes won’t automatically transfer to PH, even if PH and BN work together in the next general election,” he said.
Rafizi also defended the reliability of his internal polling, saying it offered clearer insight than third-party surveys like those by Merdeka Center.
“Merdeka Center didn’t predict the 2018 outcome. They said Najib Razak would win two-thirds. They don’t ask people who they’re voting for. We do,” he said.
In response to criticism over his open campaigning style, Rafizi said he preferred transparency to behind-the-scenes manoeuvring.
“This is better than meeting in hotels and telling branch leaders to bring 40 people for selfies,” he said.
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