COMMENT | In terms of political strategy, the whole raft of statements by certain Umno leaders discouraging DAP’s presence in the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan are perfectly understandable.

Umno supreme council member Ahmad Maslan, for instance, reportedly said there was little need for assistance from DAP or even BN component MCA in the Malay-majority seat with only 35 Chinese voters.

Before Ahmad’s statement, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was also reported to have urged Umno’s federal coalition partner DAP to stay out of the by-election.

He believed there was no reason for the predominantly Chinese party to join the campaign in a constituency that is “100 percent Malay”. In his view, it is illogical for DAP to come to Malay areas such as Nenggiri.