KLUANG – Simpang Renggam Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Dr Maszlee Malik is left red-faced after being repeatedly kicked out by senior citizens, while he was campaigning in the area.
In a one-minute 29-second video, the former education minister was shown arriving in a hall at the Simpang Renggam area.
An older man was then seen to have become angry when Maszlee was approaching the hall’s gate before screaming at the PH candidate with a rough tone telling him to go home.
However, two police officers managed to calm the senior citizen down before escorting him to a road nearby the hall.
After the man has calmed down, another senior citizen told Maszlee to stop campaigning there and to go home instead.
"We are only following the law as politics were not allowed (in the hall),” said the senior citizen before Maszlee interrupted and said many things had been done in Simpang Renggam.
Maszlee said he had served in the Parliament for almost five years and among the problems solved were the water and trash issues other than bringing McDonald’s fast-food restaurant in the area.
However, the senior citizen was not interested to hear any explanations and forced the Incumbent of Simpang Renggam Parliament to go home before Maszlee claimed that the man’s treatment was of ‘Umno’s behaviour’.
Maszlee then claimed that people knew him and he is always with the people whether it was through difficult or good times.
The incident was believed to have been recorded by PH campaign machinery before it went viral on social media.
In the 14th General Election (GE14) the Simpang Renggam Parliamentary seat was won by Maszlee with 18,157 votes compared to candidate Lian Teck Meng (BN) with 14,682 votes while Mohd Jubri Selamat (Pas) had 2,983 votes.
Maszlee won with a majority of 3,475 votes.
Maszlee would face the Chairman of Umno and Johor BN Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad, Mohd Fazrul Kamat (Perikatan Nasional) as well as Kamal Kusmin (Gabungan Tanah Air) this coming 19 November.