TG PIAI POLLS | DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang today questioned if MCA's Tanjung Piai by-election candidate Wee Jeck Seng can speak up in Parliament if he wins, pointing out that he was silent about the 1MDB scandal when he served as MP for 10 years.

"The MCA candidate for Tanjong Piai, Wee Jeck Seng (above), had been an MP for two terms of 10 years from 2008 to 2018, and he had not dared to raise even once in Parliament any question about the 1MDB scandal.

"Would he dare to raise the 1MDB scandal in Parliament if he is elected as MP for Tanjong Piai in the by-election on Nov 16?" he asked in a statement today.

Lim, who is also the Iskandar Puteri MP, believes Wee's handling of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is on trial for allegedly misappropriating at least RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds, was a good indication.

"Of course not, or he would not have welcomed Najib (below) as his 'boss' during the latter’s visit to Tanjong Piai yesterday.

"On behalf of all Malaysians, the voters of Tanjong Piai, regardless of race or religion, must send out a clear message that Malaysians support the Pakatan Harapan government campaign to root out the corruption in the 1MDB scandal and a host of other institutions, whether Felda, Felcra, Tabung Haji or Mara, and those who had cheated Malaysians of millions and billions of ringgit from the public purse must be made to pay for their crimes," he said.

Lim added that despite the ongoing trials, BN and PAS leaders are still insisting that the 1MDB scandal is a fictitious tale.

He said Harapan must remain committed to its manifesto for a New Malaysia, although it is impossible to undo decades of corruption in just a couple of years.

Lim acknowledged the uphill battle Harapan is facing in the Tanjung Piai election, stating that the coalition would have lost if the election had been called this week.

"In this era of social media, when lies, fake news and hate speech can be spread in a matter of seconds, both the Malay and Chinese voters would be right to be very upset if they believed these lies, and there is no time or opportunity to verify the truth or otherwise of these allegations.

"In the Malay areas, Malays were told that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was my puppet, that the Malays and Muslims have lost their rights and position in Malaysia.

"But in Chinese areas, the Chinese were told that I was nothing but Mahathir’s stooge and that the Chinese had lost their rights and position in Malaysia," he said.

However, Lim said Harapan has been working to refute the "lies and fake news".

"In the second week of the by-election, Harapan election workers and supporters must claw back every possible vote to clinch a victory on Nov 16 to support the Harapan agenda for a New Malaysia to transform the country into a top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity," he said.

The two frontrunners in the Tanjung Piai by-election are Wee, who is contesting under BN's logo, and Bersatu's Karmaine Sardini, who will contest under Harapan's banner.

The other candidates are Berjasa's Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz, Gerakan's Wendy Subramaniam and independent candidates Ang Chuan Lock and Faridah Aryani Abd Ghaffar.

Campaigning began last Saturday and Tanjung Piai voters will go to the polls on Nov 16.

The by-election was called after its incumbent MP, Bersatu's Dr Md Farid Md Rafik, passed away from a heart attack in September, just three weeks before his 43rd birthday.