KUALA LUMPUR: DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook has blamed his defeat at the Negeri Sembilan polls on a smear campaign orchestrated by his rivals.
At a press conference at DAP’s headquarters here, the former three-term Chennah assemblyman said the race for the mixed seat was the toughest he has faced in his 22 years of contesting in elections.
“I have contested in multiple elections. I have even won all of my previous elections. But this particular campaign was very tough because of the personal attacks against me.
“There were a lot of slander and unfounded allegations, claiming I wanted to wrest power from the Malay establishment, that I wanted to be menteri besar, that I wanted to control the entire state government.
“These are lies that led to resentment among the Malay community,” he said.
Loke added that he personally encountered Malay voters who asked him if it was true he wanted to become menteri besar, saying this showed the impact of the smear campaign against him.
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