MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has labelled the PAS Private Member’s Bill as a betrayal towards the Chinese community who voted for the party in the last general election.

The Islamist party, he said, was being ungrateful to Chinese voters who had supported it when it was part of Pakatan Rakyat.

“PAS has never been grateful to the Chinese. Immediately after winning support (in the last general election), it wanted to implement its hudud law,” he said in his speech at Kg Baru Jerlun during a one-day visit here yesterday.

Telling villagers not to trust DAP, which had misled the Chinese into supporting PAS, Liow said the party was now trying to escape responsibility.

“They claim that they have severed ties with PAS but in Selangor, there are still three PAS assemblymen in the state exco,” he said.

Liow also urged voters to reject Amanah’s candidate in the by-election because it was cut from the same cloth as PAS, adding that the ultimate aim of both parties was to turn Malaysia into a theocratic country.

“There are no liberal factions in Amanah or PAS. One is extreme and the other is more extreme,” he said.

A vote for Barisan Nasional candidate Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid would send a strong message to PAS and Amanah that the Chinese community rejected extremist policies like PAS’ hudud, he added.

Later, Liow met voters at a nearby coffee shop and launched the ground-breaking ceremony for a new community hall that MCA had pledged to build for the village.

He, along with Perak MCA chief Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, also paid a surprise visit to the Bukit Merchu home of Duong Thi Ngo, 38, who could not afford the treatment for a fractured leg she sustained in an accident.

Liow said the family of Duong, a Vietnamese citizen, needed help and that he had asked MCA leaders in Kuala Kangsar to help them.

“I’ve told them to bring her to the Ipoh hospital to re-look the fracture. Duong’s husband told us it couldn’t be cured because the ligaments and bones were crushed.

“I’ve told them to get a second opinion. We will also help the family in terms of citizenship because Duong has been staying here for over eight years.

“If she gets permanent resident status, Duong is eligible for government perks,” he said.

Expressing his confidence that the votes would go to Barisan Nasional this time, Liow said Kuala Kangsar held a special place in his heart as his wife is from here.

“I’ve been here (Bukit Merchu) before. My wife (Datin Seri Lee Sun Loo) is from Kuala Kangsar and I’ve been here many, many times.

“For me it’s like balik kampung. I always engage with the people here and the setting here is always harmonious.”

-The Star-