SHAH ALAM - Using religious and racial sentiments in the by-election campaign for the Pulai Parliament and Simpang Jeram State Assembly seats in Johor is inappropriate, particularly given the context of the state.
Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) Johor Youth member Fadhli Umar Aminolhuda stressed that the qualifications of candidates for the state assembly should not be solely judged based on religion or race.
Instead, the focus should be on the offerings they can provide to the people.
He emphasised that it should not be a contentious issue because all the candidates in the contest are Malays and Muslims.
"Parti Amanah was founded on Islamic principles, so I don't want to exaggerate this because we represent the Johor Nation, and that's not how we do politics.
"The issue is not about who is more Muslim, but what is the best offer we can provide to the people in Simpang Jeram and Pulai?" he said during the 'By-Election: Mood tiga penjuru' forum hosted by Ismail Adnan yesterday.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the by-election voting day for Sept 9.
These by-elections were necessitated by the incumbent Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub's passing on July 23 due to a brain hemorrhage.
Meanwhile, Fadhli Umar expressed confidence that Pakatan Harapan (PH) has an advantage despite strong competition due to the racial composition in both areas of the state assembly.
He believed that the good cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH would lead to victory in the by-election.
"The results of observations on the ground during campaigning saw that the support of the Malays for the PH-BN coalition was well received.
"This shows the support of non-Malays and the Malays are able to win the by-election in both areas," he said.