Azaha Abdul Rani said DAP would accept it if it was agreed that there was no need for parties other than those from Barisan Nasional to campaign for Umno’s candidate.

“There was no need for Ku Li to go to the press,” the Kelantan DAP chairman told FMT, referring to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

“We would have acceded to it, especially if our presence during the campaign would be politically detrimental.”

Tengku Razaleigh, who is Umno’s election director for the by-election, was reported to have said there was no logical reason for DAP to campaign given that Nenggiri is “100% Malay”, adding that it was pointless.

The country’s former longest-serving MP also said DAP representatives were not “proficient in Malay”, and that their campaign speeches were always skewed more to the Chinese demographic.

The party, therefore, would be wasting its time and that of Umno’s, he said.

Azaha said DAP would not say anything further for now, although Pakatan Harapan had launched its machinery for the by-election on July 21.

A DAP grassroots leader who did not wish to be named said their members, who comprised various races, were slighted by Tengku Razaleigh’s claim that they were not fluent in Malay.

“We felt insulted. DAP doesn’t just have Chinese members. Many in Kelantan are Malay. And our machinery is made up mostly of Malay members,” the leader said.

The leader reminded Tengku Razaleigh that DAP had played a vital role in ensuring that BN won big in Galas during last year’s state election.

In that contest, Syahbuddin Hashim of BN defeated Tarmizi Abdul Rahman of PAS with a 3,337-vote majority.

Nomination day for the Nenggiri by-election has been scheduled for Aug 3 and polling on Aug 17.

The by-election was called after the seat was declared vacant following the cessation of incumbent Azizi Abu Naim’s membership in Bersatu on June 13.