Barisan’s event to showcase 150 DAP members switching sides ends in confusion

A Barisan Nasional (BN) function meant to unveil 150 DAP members who were apparently switching sides to join the coalition ended in confusion last night as no evidence was given to show the crossovers.

In his ceramah last night, Umno Information Chief and Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan claimed that the crowd gathered before him comprised DAP members who were jaded with the party and was eager to enter BN’s fold.
To complete the ceremony, three allegedly former DAP members stood before the audience and pulled on the signature blue BN T-shirts.
Ahmad then handed a DAP flag to one of the three "former DAP members". She was told to lay the flag down, and was then handed a BN flag to hold.
“We are very happy because we have friends who used to support DAP, now support BN tonight. Thank you for thinking about BN’s future, for the future of our children and grandchildren,” said Ahmad at the ceramah in Taman Desa Bakti, Teluk Intan.
Although Ahmad described it as a “historic moment”, the few members of the crowd told reporters later that they had always been BN supporters.
And one of three new “BN converts” who had made a show of donning the BN T-shirt before the crowd told reporters later that she had been “ordered” to attend the event, and that she was still a DAP member.
“I am very distressed by this. They forced me to come here, to bring my family and my friends. But when I came here, they took my photos. I don’t want this,” said Sahtin Subramaniam, a 46-year-old taxi driver, when approached by reporters.
“I am not a BN person. From before until now, I am a DAP person, my entire family supports DAP.”
She added that she had been promised “goodies” if she came to the event, but now she feared DAP and her friends would learn of her presence here and be disappointed.
But the media interview with Sahtin was cut short by one Arjami Ali, a committee member of pro-BN group Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Warisan Ketuanan Melayu Malaysia (Pewaris).
Arjami told reporters he was responsible for bringing Sahtin and others to the event, and that she had denied her support for BN because she was “confused.”
“She used to support DAP. But because you kept asking her, you twisted the questions, so she was confused. If she were still DAP, she wouldn’t have come here,” he said.
When asked how he had convinced her to allegedly leave DAP, Arjami said he had interviewed her about the problems she faced daily.
“I am good at that. It is like tackling a woman. If a woman followed me, it means she likes me. She wouldn’t have come here if she didn’t like it.”
After the function ended, the audience formed a small crowd outside a nearby house, waiting to collect a box of goodies each from individuals clad in the BN uniform.
Arjami scolded reporters who wanted to open a box offered by a recipient, but relented, revealing canned food inside. – May 28, 2014.