'Kuih' analogy: Manogaran now says he was only citing views on the ground
CAMERON POLLS | M Manogaran, the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election, has clarified that he was merely citing perceptions on the ground with his “kuih” analogy on voting patterns in the constituency.
Manogaran told Malaysiakini that he does not endorse such views, stressing that such perceptions should be corrected.
“It is what people say, but that is the wrong perception and needs to be corrected...
CAMERON POLLS | Harapan candidate stresses that he does not endorse such perceptions.
CAMERON POLLS | M Manogaran, the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election, has clarified that he was merely citing perceptions on the ground with his “kuih” analogy on voting patterns in the constituency.
Manogaran told Malaysiakini that he does not endorse such views, stressing that such perceptions should be corrected.
“It is what people say, but that is the wrong perception and needs to be corrected.
“What the perception is on the ground, I need to know. I do not endorse it. It has to be done away with.
“What I was actually meaning to say is that if BN thinks it can get more votes by fielding a particular race, that is not quite right,” he stressed.
Earlier, Manogaran used the "kuih" analogy when asked to comment on the possibility of facing retired senior police officer Ramli Mohd Nor in the Jan 26 by-election.
It was speculated that BN would leverage on Ramli's Muslim identity to attract Malay-Muslim votes, and his Orang Asli identity to draw Orang Asli votes.
Manogaran had told Malaysiakini that BN’s strategy of playing to the candidate’s race would likely backfire, as Malays in the constituency "would not even buy kuih from Orang Asli vendors."
He added that ethnic Chinese and Indians would also be unlikely to vote for an Orang Asli candidate, while Orang Asli voters are likely to vote for a party in power to bring in much-needed infrastructure development.
The Orang Asli community make up over 20 percent of the Cameron Highlands electorate, while Malays constitute 34 percent.
BN is slated to announce its candidate for the parliament seat tomorrow morning.
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