Lim Kit Siang appealed for convincing by-election victories for PH to dissuade Umno from pursuing its plot to oust the new government. Picture shows PH candidate Wong Siew Ki (centre) campaigning for the Balakong by-election at Pasar Sungai Chua in Kajang, August 19, 2018. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Voters in Seri Setia and Balakong must use both polls to endorse the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) ongoing reforms or indicate their desire to return to the previous government, said DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

While acknowledging that neither by-election will affect the balance of power in Selangor, the Iskandar Puteri MP said they will give encouragement either to PH or Barisan Nasional (BN) in the two coalition’s respective plans for the country.

Convincing victories for PH will dissuade BN and Umno from pursuing its plot to oust the new government from power ahead of its full term, he said in a statement today.

“It is an open secret that Umno leaders are working for an end to the Pakatan Harapan Government in as short as two years, and the outcome of the two by-elections in Selangor will be used by the Umno leaders as a yardstick as to whether their plot and conspiracy to engineer the disintegration of the Pakatan Harapan government before its current term is a futile and even puerile one,” Lim said.

Lim added that Umno leaders have gone on record to state their belief that the party could return to federal power within two years if it could cause a collapse in the PH pact.

The DAP stalwart said that while BN has already disintegrated to the point of only having its three founding members, Umno leaders were still planning to regain control of the government before the next general election.

Lim made a particular appeal to the voters of Balakong, who had been represented by DAP’s Eddie Ng until his death in an accident last month, to vote in full force as a final farewell to the late assemblyman.

Both Seri Setia and Balakong will vote on September 8.