State polls: 300-strong crowd turn up for Pakatan ceramah in Teratai

AMPANG: There was quite a stir in Pandan Perdana commercial area on Saturday (Aug 5) night when a group of men wearing vests with Barisan Nasional blue turned up at a Pakatan Harapan-led ceramah taking place at the Teratai state constituency.

Viewers, who had been mostly half-listening to the speeches as they ate their dinner, became more alert as one of the men from the group made his way to the stage.

For many of the mostly Chinese demographic there, it was a sight never before seen as politicians from Barisan Nasional shook hands with DAP members in public.

“I don’t think I’ve even seen Umno politicians in this area before. But now they are speaking on their behalf.

“They seem sincere, hopefully it will last,” an audience member remarked.

Pandan Umno chief Datuk Jamaluddin Ropa (pic), who gave an almost 15 minute speech, spent most of that time trying to convince voters to support the Pakatan candidate Yew Jia Haur.

“I stand here on this stage in the name of unity.

“We all want stability, and stability needs unity,” he told the more than 300-strong crowd.

“We are 100% committed to supporting this unity government, along with the candidates.

“We must make sure we are not divided.”

Towards the end of his speech Jamaluddin said he hoped that if the Pakatan candidate was elected, he would be retained for more than a term.

“We have seen four different assemblymen over four election terms.

“One term is not enough to see through policies for Teratai,” he said before leaving to attend another event.

Also speaking during the event was Yew, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin, Seri Kembangan Pakatan candidate Wong Siew Ki and former Teratai assemblyman Tiew Way Keng.

Teratai, along with the Pandan Indah state seat, falls under the Pandan parliamentary constituency.

Teratai had seen four different assemblymen over the past four terms.

It had not had an incumbent assemblyman since the state constituency was created in 2003.

The seat was won by Gerakan’s Yap Soo Sun during the 11th General Election (GE11) in 2004 but had been held by DAP since GE12 in 2008.

The 2023 state election would see a straight fight between first-timers – Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Chew Han Keai and Yew.

Teratai has 79,579 registered voters and is predominantly made up of Chinese voters.

It has 21,190 Malays (26.63%), 49,039 Chinese (61.62%), 6,489 Indians (8.159%), and 2,857 others (3.59%)