Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. ― Picture by Choo Choy May

TELUK INTAN, May 24 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Rela troopers here today that he knows the identities of those who withheld from casting their votes in Election 2013 and warned them to secure the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) victory in the Teluk Intan by-election on May 31.

Zahid, who is Umno vice-president, also pledged to buy new uniforms for the members of civilian volunteer corps that acts as home guards, on condition the coalition’s candidate Datuk Mah Siew Keong trumps his DAP competitor.

“I checked one by one; I know who didn’t go out to vote,” Zahid said at Rela function here.

“We must make sure that on the 31st, BN candidate Datuk Mah Siew Keong will wrest back the Teluk Intan seat,” he added.

Although balloting is meant to be secret, Zahid claimed that 2,019 out of 8,639 eligible voters from among the Rela corp in Teluk Intan did not cast their vote in the May 5 general election last year.

“Don’t be afraid; those people are not at our function here. I’m confident that this time, they will go out to vote and they must support the BN candidate, okay?” said Zahid.

Gerakan president Mah, 53, will face DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, 26, in a straight fight for the Teluk Intan federal seat in Perak on May 31.

The Chinese comprise the largest group of voters in Teluk Intan at 42 per cent of the electorate. The Malays form 38 per cent, and the Indians 19 per cent of the 60,349-strong electorate.