Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Masing’s swipe at Taib?
- Let’s talk about the AG’s Report
- Can Nik Aziz go the distance?
- Umno’s chief crony
- What constitutes a Manifesto?
- The battle for Nibong Tebal
- Muhyiddin’s boys target Nov 30
| Posted: 28 Oct 2012 06:30 PM PDT Parti Rakyat Sarawak has declared itself the "true custodian" of Dayaks in Sarawak, putting a spoke perhaps in Taib's divide and rule strategy. Parliamentary election's is not Taib's top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he's had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his 'partners' and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition. Free Malaysia Today SIBU: Was Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing sending out a message to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud with his speech during the party's eight anniversary dinner here last Saturday? Masing's emphasis on PRS being a "truly Dayak party" and that its elected representatives were "all Dayaks" wasn't just a frivolous statement. It was tactical. It comes at a time of the rapid 'Dayak awakening' amongst the rural native communities courtesy of the alternative media, Radio Free Sarawak and a brazen opposition. Fueling this 'awakening' is the floundering Barisan Nasional partners – Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Sarawak United Peoples party (SUPP) – who can't seem to get their act together. The only 'water-tight' party appears to be PRS and Taib's PBB which incidentally is facing simmering discontent within its Bumiputera wing led by the allegedly much spineless Alfred Jabu Numpang. The next parliamentary election which must be held by April 2013 will be a challenging one for Sarawak BN's component parties. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is desperately in need of Sarawak's 31 seats in view of the fluid political situation in Sabah and in the peninsular. In the last parliamentary elections in 2008, it was Sabah and Sarawak's collective 56 seats that helped BN retain Putrajaya. Sabah and Sarawak each lost one seat to the opposition, delivering 54 seats to the federal coalition. But the current scenario is somewhat different. The latest spin from the ground in Sabah is that the Musa Aman-led BN could lose up to 10 if not 12 of the 25 contestable parliamentary seats. In Sarawak the seat sharing ratio stands at PPB (14), SUPP (seven) PRS (six) SPDP (4) As it stands, speculations are rife that BN could lose up to seven seats from amongst SUPP, SPDP and PRS. Taib, on his part, has guaranteed Najib a return on all 14 of PBB's parliamentary seats and there's no reason for the PM to doubt his ability especially after his performance in the last state election. Taib is not too concerned about parliament. PRS truly represents Dayaks Parliamentary election's is not Taib's top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he's had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his 'partners' and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition. Masing is said to be a thorn in Taib's side. In the run-up to last year's state election, Masing, unhappy with Taib constantly ignoring his proposals, met directly with Najib and in one instant managed to thwart attempts to allow an ex-PRS incumbent elected representative, Larry Sng, from contesting. On Saturday, stamping PRS' sway over Sarawak's majority Dayak community, Masing said the party was the "custodian" of Dayak interest and that its elected representatives were "duty bound" to protect the race. "For all intents and purposes, PRS is the party which truly represents rural constituencies where most of the Dayaks happen to reside. "Therefore, we do not apologise for who we are and the basis of our political stand and struggles," he said alluding perhaps to the known 'issues' between him and Taib. Masing further warned members to be wary of "attempts" to stir discontent within the party adding that enemies and approaches came in different forms. "There are people who are envious of our strength and will try to de-stabilise us. They maybe individuals or groups. "They will (either) contest against us when the general election is called (or) slyly fight us by pretending to our friends or friends of the group and pull us down. "The other way is to de-stabilise us is by picking on some of our members who exhibit certain weaknesses. This will be a subtle approach and by people who we are familiar with. Thus without realizing it, we will fall into a trap which will eventually break the party's solidarity," said Masing.
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| Let’s talk about the AG’s Report Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:14 PM PDT Leakages and wastages are not confined only to BN states; Pakatan state governments are equally guilty of the same charge! By Abdul Rahman Dahlan, FMT But the truth is stranger than fiction – or so I have found out. My attempt to level the playing field by speaking up against the mismanagement of Pakatan states was met with thunderous objection in the august house. No less than five opposition MPs stood up to prevent me from finishing my speech. All is well, for Hansard never lies. When chaos got the better of my words, I decided to pen down my analysis in the spirit of informing the public that life in Pakatan states is not necessarily a bed of roses, too. Kelantan The project was initially set to help the Kelantan poor by promising (for lack of better word) a monthly dividend and salary of RM200 and RM700 respectively. On top of that, the project planned to provide free accommodation and to stimulate the local employment rate. Of course, promises are meant to be broken. All of these promises never materialized. The poor who placed their hopes in this program are now still stuck in status quo. When two projects under the program failed to meet their targets, the Kelantan state government – through Perbadanan Pembangunan Ladang Rakyat Kelantan (PPLRK) – leased out the remaining 17 projects (total land involved is 76,780 acres) to 16 selected companies. But as the AG's report so aptly pointed out, no specific committee had been set up to evaluate the ability or past performance of the 16 companies. Much worse was when apparently, the 16 listed were actually suggested by none other than the CEO of PPLRK himself! Ah, the joys of running you own empire must be intoxicating, I believe. To compound the problem even further, audit analysis of the agreements with the 16 companies showed that the terms were lop-sided and were heavily stacked against the state government's interests. For example, in the 20-year lease period, the companies are set to gain total net profit of RM1.6 billion. However, they would only pay Kelantan state government RM421 million in lease payments. The estimated net profit of the 16 companies is a staggering RM59 million a year for the next 20 years! And who are the stakeholders behind Liziz Standaco Sdn. Bhd.? In yet another land controversy in Kelantan, the AG's report took the state government to task for offering 1,000 acres of land to Liziz Standaco in 2003. This was supposed to be for a 12-year riverbank development and beautification project. In consideration thereof, Liziz Standaco must return to the state government assets amounting to RM389.09 million. But as far as the AG's Report is concerned, the Kelantan state government has only received a paltry sum of RM45.7 million to date. The remaining RM343.4 million is still outstanding at the time this analysis is drafted. Eyebrows were raised in concern when the AG's report also stated that Liziz Standaco had pledged 13.52 acres of the land in question as collateral to secure a RM75 million loan. While it is not immediately clear whether Liziz Standaco had used part of the RM75 million's loan to pay the RM45.7 million to state government, it can in many ways suggest that the company is not in the best financial footing to navigate the project to the shore of success. Kedah Some might argue that KCB's RM1 million scandal is pale in comparison to that of NFC's that involved RM250 million. But I disagree. Wastage, by any other name, is still a wastage – especially so for a small economy like Kedah. If we still insist to go by figures and statistic, the RM1 million involved in this case tantamount to 0.10% of Kedah's 2011 state budget of RM1 billion. Taken in this perspective, we will also find that the 0.10% is at par with NFC's 0.11% wastage vis-à-vis RM230 billion of the federal budget. KCB was also frowned upon when it made generous payments on two failed projects. The first involved the payment of RM4.26 million to a company in Papua New Guinea for a palm oil project which subsequently failed. The second involved a payment of RM1.6 million to a consultant company to "arrange" a USD44 million offshore loan earmarked to fund the same Papua New Guinea's investment. Apart from failing to raise the USD44 million loan (which has since put the project in jeopardy), KCB marched ahead to borrow an additional RM3 million from five local companies. What's appalling is that the borrowing had been done without the approval from its own board! Meanwhile the AG's Report has ticked off Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kedah for paying a whopping RM1,500 per unit for repair of loose electrical distribution board in low-cost public housing projects. And rightly so, too! The government approved market price is capped at only RM15.45 per unit. The difference per unit in this case is a staggering RM1,484.55. The Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kedah had also overpaid (by 31 times) for power sockets in its low-cost public housing projects. They actually paid RM1,500 per unit when the government-approved market price is only RM50.18 per unit. Simple arithmetic will show that this constitutes an overpayment of RM1,449.82 per unit. Selangor Since its inception in 2008, 19.4% (60,972) of 313,706 of those who were born in Selangor had applied for the scheme. Out of the 60,972 applications, only 21,918 have been approved. Selangor has allocated RM13.5 million for TAWAS. But out of that amount, about RM4.5 million was meant for operational costs, setting aside only RM8 million for the actual program itself. In education sector, Selangor government had incurred losses of RM39.69 million in 2010, and RM13.56 million through Pendidikan Industri YS Sdn Bhd (PIYSB) – the organ that operates UNISEL. These are only examples of leakages and wastages in Pakatan states. If you read the AG's Report with microscopic view, you would find much more examples of the same nature.
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| Posted: 27 Oct 2012 04:54 PM PDT  Keep your promise: Dr Mahathir and Nik Aziz in a friendly situation in Kelantan around the time Nik Aziz said that the then Prime Minister should retire and that he would follow. Last Monday marked Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's 22nd year as Kelantan Mentri Besar but he is poised to contest the next general election because his party says it cannot do without their Panglima Perang or war admiral. Joceline Tan, The Star DATUK Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat eats like a bird. A normal meal would consist of about three tablespoons of rice and some fish and soft vegetables. The elderly Tok Guru is one ulama who has not given in to the sin of gluttony. He is still the same slight built he was when he became Mentri Besar of Kelantan in 1990. That is the degree of his personal discipline. He has been on a strict diet following a major heart attack in 2004 and the PAS grassroots who host meals for him at political functions are told he has to avoid meat as well as oily and spicy food. About two weeks ago, state exco member Datuk Nik Amar Nik Abdullah joined Nik Aziz for dinner before starting their ceramah in Pengkalan Chepa. "Tok Guru took a little bit of rice and ikan percik. It is awkward because I eat quite a lot. But I try to eat less when I eat with him," said Nik Amar. For years, Nik Aziz's frail health was attributed to gastritis or, as PAS people call it, "stomach problems". His health has always been delicate. He becomes unwell for various reasons – if he eats the wrong thing, if he does not eat, if his schedule is too hectic or even if he gets splashed by a few drops of rain. When he is feeling well, his wit sparkles, his smile is as sweet as that of a baby's and the freckles on his face look so cute. But when he is feeling under the weather, he becomes a glum and grumpy old man and the freckles look like liver spots. Ill health Speculation about his health has grown more acute and Nik Amar recently dismissed claims that his boss has cancer. This is not the first time the cancer rumour has cropped up. Last year, Nik Aziz himself denied he was suffering from cancer.  PAS has two sets of rules. They say the MB and the deputy must be ulama. But their No. 2 in the party is Mat Sabu who is not an ulama. - DATUK ALWI CHE AHMAD PAS leaders often say "Tok Guru is as healthy as a man his age would be". It is their way of deflecting the fact that Nik Aziz is 82 and has health issues. But the reality is that there are very few leaders in the world who are still in active politics at that age. Even the great Fidel Castro, who finally retired at 87, is taking things easy these days and only appears in public when there are rumours that he has died. Nik Aziz, however, is not clinging on to power. Earlier this year, he told a party meeting that he wished to retire but was met with a chorus of protest. They told him he is their "Panglima Perang (war admiral)" and they could not do without him. "He has to lead us in the general election. But we told him that whether or not he wishes to stay on as MB, it is up to him," said Nik Amar. Like it or not, Nik Aziz's age has become an election issue for PAS in Kelantan and especially after holding on to power for 22 years. He feels his age and there is no shortage of people out there who will let him forget it, including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has a memory like an elephant when it comes to political slights. Nik Aziz had, back in the 1990s, said that leaders should not stay for more than two terms. He asked Dr Mahathir to retire and said he would follow suit. Last week, the former Premier reminded Nik Aziz of his promise to step down. It was not exactly a gentle reminder because Dr Mahathir sort of twisted the knife and said that Malaysians should "open their eyes and reject leaders who do not honour their promises." Revenge is sweet but, as they say, it is a dish best served cold and Dr Mahathir is savouring the dish. Dr Mahathir stepped down after 22 years in power. On the other hand, Nik Aziz marked his 22nd year in power exactly six days ago – he was sworn in as Mentri Besar on Oct 22, 1990. PAS assemblyman for Gaal Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad touched on the same sensitive subject when he rose to speak during the Budget session at the recent Kelantan Legislative Assembly. His fellow PAS assemblymen looked on aghast as he urged ageing leaders who had to use walking sticks to make way and referred to Nik Aziz as "aged and sickly". Egged on by the opposition bench, he said he did not have to name them, they knew who they were. He went on to say there was no shortage of qualified, younger ulama to take over. Dr Nik Mazian knew he was skating on thin ice but he insisted that the assembly sitting was the best forum to raise issues of ageing leaders and succession. It was obvious that he was sticking his neck out to send a message to the top leadership. The tall and distinguished former cardiologist is a third term assemblyman and has health problems. This is very likely his last term and he knew he had nothing to lose by being frank. He is also an intelligent man and probably senses that the next general election will be the most challenging for his party. The signs are there – big crowds attending Umno ceramah, unhappiness over the sacking of former Selangor PAS leader Datuk Dr Hasan Ali as well as concern among top leaders like Datuk Dr Haron Din and Datuk Harun Taib about DAP and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. More recently, PAS veteran Datuk Shahnon Ahmad, who wrote that infamous book Shit in the 1990s, hit out at the party's partnership with DAP. State exco member Datuk Husam Musa's claim that Umno is worse than DAP will only infuriate this ultra conservative circle in PAS. He had riled the Umno side when he said that at the recent Assembly sitting. Nik Aziz is much loved but he has been up there too long. People are talking about the fact that his son Nik Abduh, who is the deputy PAS Youth chief, is about to make his electoral debut in the parliamentary seat of Pasir Putih. Sources at the party's central leadership said Nik Aziz will lead Kelantan in the election but Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yaakob is likely to take over the top post. Ahmad has apparently assumed many of Nik Aziz's duties. He has also taken on the task of briefing the Sultan about state affairs and has established a good relationship with the palace. Two candidates have been identified as the potential deputy: Nik Amar who is the state exco in charge of religion and education, and Nasaruddin Daud who is Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly. Husam was once a contender for the No. 2 post but his ties with the Raja Perempuan has affected his standing in the eyes of the Sultan following the fallout in the royal family. His other disadvantage is that he is not an ulama. "I am not interested in any post. I have read reports claiming I want to be a minister. One article even said I will be PM after Anwar Ibrahim. I like to joke to my friends, just make me the petroleum minister, I can bring oil royalty to Kelantan," he said. Blue-eyed boy But Husam is still the Mentri Besar's blue-eyed boy despite what his detractors may say. During the Assembly sitting, as Husam was elaborating on why he thought DAP is better than Umno, Nik Aziz suddenly stood up and left the House. By evening the gossip mill was abuzz with claims that Nik Aziz was upset with Husam for praising DAP. But the Mentri Besar apparently left to perform zohor prayers and had later called Husam to congratulate him for defending DAP. The party has been driving home the point that the Mentri Besar must be an ulama. They are aware that for the first time in decades, Umno has a Mentri Besar candidate who is acceptable to Kelantanese and the point about an ulama Mentri Besar is aimed at him. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed has become a serious contender not because he is a high flyer or has a first class honours degree from a top Australian university. Locals respect him because he is humble, hard working and lives a moderate lifestyle. Mustapa's house in Jeli as well as his father's house in Bachok are indistinguishable from that of the average Kelantanese. State opposition leader Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad said PAS is contradicting itself on the ulama leadership. He said party president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang is an ulama but the deputy Mohamed Sabu is not. "PAS has two sets of rules. They say the MB and the deputy must be ulama. But their No. 2 in the party is Mat Sabu who is not an ulama. If anything happens to Hadi, Mat Sabu will take over. So what are they talking about?" Kelantanese are even crazier about football than politics. The euphoria over the Red Warriors' winning the Malaysia Cup last week has yet to dissipate. Red is a happening colour in Kelantan so much so that the state Barisan has eschewed the official blue and gone for red as its campaign colour. PAS would like to claim credit for the Red Warriors but the team rose to the top only after Umno warlord Tan Sri Annuar Musa took over as president of the Kelantan Football Association. But football is truly one game where both parties come together. A PAS official joked that football is so popular in Kelantan because there are no nightclubs or karaoke outlets. Football matches are the only outlet for them to let their hair down, to sing, dance and shout. The PAS government's ties with the palace have never been this good. Nik Aziz has cultivated a warm working relationship with Sultan Muhammad and had even advised the sovereign to get married as soon as possible. When the Sultan replied tongue-in-cheek that Tok Guru should help find him a wife, the latter merely smiled in a diplomatic fashion. Tok Guru also has a comfortable relationship with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The Prime Minister is always respectful and solicitous in the elder man's presence. After all, Najib has seen Nik Aziz at the height of his power and also at his most vulnerable. The most famous photograph of them together is that of Najib in his shirtsleeves, leaning anxiously over Nik Aziz as he lay on a hospital bed. Najib, then the Deputy Prime Minister, had flown to Kota Baru to visit the PAS leader after the latter's heart attack. He also arranged for the VIP patient to be flown to Kuala Lumpur for further treatment. The Umno side used the picture at several by-elections to show that Najib is a caring leader but the PAS side slammed Umno for exploiting the Tok Guru's illness. Nik Aziz has some good things going for him but the pressure is building. After 22 years as the ruling party, PAS cannot pass the buck to others for the lack of progress or development in the state. There is a do-or-die mood building up in Kelantan politics and it could not have come at a worse time for Nik Aziz. The PAS leader is at his most vulnerable. Being 82 is very auspicious. In Chinese, the number means "easy to prosper". In politics, however, it simply means one has overstayed. Nik Aziz will probably be the oldest candidate in the coming general election. The grand old man of PAS has become both an asset and liability to his party.
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| Posted: 27 Oct 2012 03:35 PM PDT This wealthy Malay became a billionaire because he worked hard to become a super-crony of Mahathir and Muhyiddin. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, FMT Umno is finding itself increasingly isolated despite having three million members. But then the Malay population in country is far more than Umno's three million members. In 2008, the Malay population was 5.7 million. Umno's candidates only garnered two million Malay votes. This means than one million of Umno's own members did not support the party because they realised that the policies touted by Umno were destroying the country. Umno only managed to gather 35% of the Malay votes. In 2008 total voter turnout was 10.9 million. Malays formed 52% of the voters. In the 13th general election, the voter turnout is expected to be 11.58 million. Malay voter turnout is expected to increase to 55% or 6.37 millions. Umno is expected to garner only 2.4 million votes this time round. This time the party, whose president Najib Tun Razak, accursed its people, will have to seek the support of the Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Vietnamese, Myanmarees and the Indonesians to win. This fact is a clear act of treason. The right to vote belongs exclusively to Malaysian citizens. Isn't it curse when immigrants are given citizenships? Why has this happened to Umno which has long since been slogeneering about Malay struggle? The answer is because the Malays have realised that since 1988, Umno's struggle has been for totalitarian power. Umno's chief crony The chief Umno crony, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary – a good friend of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin – today owns and controls a litany of companies including MMC, DRB Hicom, Proton, Malakoff, Johor Port, Senai Airport, Port of Tanjong Pelepas, Bank Muamalat, Padiberas Nasional, CSR Sugar, Gardenia, MPH Bookstores and Penang Port
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| Posted: 26 Oct 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Mohd Hisham Abdul Rafar, Bernama Manifestos are part and parcel of any general election. They also play a vital role in determining the success or defeat of an electoral candidate or a political party. The word 'manifesto' is being bandied about increasingly in the media and in conversations among the people in the run-up to the 13th General Election, particularly with regard to promises made by political parties prior to the last general election and as to whether they have been delivered or not.
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| Posted: 25 Oct 2012 03:06 PM PDT
The next general election is expected to be the closest fight to form the new government. And several seats across the nation are likely to see heated battles with the victor winning by the slimmest of majorities. The Malaysian Insider takes a look at some of these hot seats in what will be an intense election for control of Malaysia. Opalyn Mok, The Malaysian Insider NIBONG TEBAL, Oct 26 — Located on the southern part of Seberang Perai, this small township of about 50,000 people is almost like the last frontier of mainland Penang. That's because there is a spot in this quiet little town where you just need to take one step forward and you would have left Penang and stepped right into Perak. Perhaps it is due to its distance from the busy city of George Town but not many Penang folk would venture here except for foodies intent on trying out the town's famed Teochew crab porridge, boiled baby octopus and curried freshwater prawns. Far from the sea, it may seem strange that this mainland township's fame is tied to "seafood" but considering the Krian River runs through it, the mud crabs and freshwater prawns are obviously local catches. Jawi is the busiest part of the whole constituency where there is a concentration of shoplots, food courts, wet markets, restaurants, supermarkets and government offices. Nibong Tebal is spread out over three state constituencies — Jawi, Sungai Acheh and Sungai Bakap — with different racial groups in different villages. The whole of Nibong Tebal is made up of about 55 per cent non-Malays and about 45 per cent Malays, with a majority of the Malays located in the Sungai Acheh area where agriculture is the main industry.  Jawi town is the main hub with its rows of shophouses. Previously, the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat and its three state seats, Sungai Acheh, Sungai Bakap and Jawi, were all Barisan Nasional (BN) seats. In the 2004 general election, Umno (BN) newcomer Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman won the parliamentary seat with a 6,005-vote majority while the three state seats also saw BN winning with huge majorities but in 2008, BN only managed to retain the Sungai Acheh state seat with a slim majority of 250 votes and lost the rest. This coming election, Zainal Abidin is tipped to be the one to try to win the seat back for BN even though the current MP, Tan Tee Beng, who won the seat on the PKR ticket, is now an independent MP.  Zainal Abidin is tipped to be the BN candidate for the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat. A local boy, Zainal Abidin's family home is located in one of the villages here but other than to his fellow villagers, he is not that well-known in the non-Malay community. Instead, he often appears at BN functions with Nibong Tebal BN co-ordinator Tan Cheng Liang, who is also former Jawi state assemblyman and tipped to contest the Jawi state seat, purportedly to show a united BN front. It is obvious that Nibong Tebal has been "under attack" by BN which is intent on winning the two state seats and the parliamentary one back this time around. This year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a RM8.5 million allocation for Nibong Tebal for development projects such as construction of a multi-purpose hall in Nibong Tebal (RM3 million), repainting of apartments (RM2 million), repairing of houses in Indian and Chinese villages (RM2 million) and rebuilding of Sekolah Agama Rakyat Al-Amin (RM1.8 million).  Fishing is an industry in the area as the Krian River runs through Nibong Tebal. There was also a "promotional blitz" of sorts when the MCA launched its Jom Masuk Kampung (Let's Enter The Villages) roadshow in Penang at Nibong Tebal with all of the top MCA leadership spending the day at various villages in the constituency. More recently, BN allocated a further RM3 million, on top of the RM1 million it had earlier allocated, to the building fund of SMJK Jit Sin II which is located in the constituency. The school is in the midst of raising RM30 million for its building fund. But all this attention by BN does not seem to impress many of the constituents. "We are not small children who can be pleased by offerings of sweets and candies. Do they think us stupid?" a resident said when asked if they feel indebted to BN for all the goodies it has been handing out to the constituency. After speaking to the villagers, it is clear that the general sentiment seems to be one of disgust, disappointment and even hatred for BN and its leaders. "They think we are slow-thinking villagers who do not know how to access the Internet to get the real story behind their corruption and excesses? There they are spending our money like their own and then when elections come, they pretend to give us little titbits as if it is from their own pocket," one Jawi resident said. Many of them said they would not give BN another chance to "cheat" and "lie" to them. "If I see any of them, I turn around and walk away. I feel it is really time that we changed the whole federal government, not only change our state assemblymen and MP," said an elderly resident who's been following the political scene closely through the news and the Internet.
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| Muhyiddin’s boys target Nov 30 Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:29 PM PDT According to Muhyiddin Yassin's camp, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage, given that the middle-class and Christians will be distracted. Toffee Rodrigo, FMT Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin's boys want the general election this year. They are pushing Muhyiddin to pressure Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to dissolve Parliament by Nov 30. Muhyiddin's supporters feel Nov 30 should be the latest date, or else Umno and Barisan Nasional will be in trouble. According to them, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage. The strategic advantage they are talking about is in East Malaysia. A December poll, they believe, will give the Christians (read opposition) less time to campaign, they will be busy with Christmas and have little time to dwell on politics. And this will be good for the BN as far as Sarawak is concerned as the natives will be also too busy with the festivities to seek out the alternative media. They will thus depend on the propaganda dished out by the government-controlled mass media especially the radio and TV. In West Malaysia, the middle class, which is seen to be anti-establishment, will be busy taking holidays. Many of them may not be around even to vote if the election is called in December. And this is what BN needs to win back states like Selangor and Penang. The Christians in West Malaysia, too, will have little time having to prepare for Christmas, schooling for the children and holidays and may not be around in their respective constituencies. Muhyddin may get the boot Najib, on the other hand, does not think so. He believes he is gaining ground with the Christians and needs their support. Najib reckons MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek's peddling of the hudud around every nook and corner will compel Christians to opt for the BN even though many in their ranks deplore the BN. Now within Umno there are two groups with different views. Muhyiddin's supporters are convinced that Najib is just wasting time as he knows this is his last term. Muhyiddin himself is growing increasingly frustrated. He is confident of an even worse showing for Umno-BN than in 2008. He is sure to make moves to push Najib out sooner than later. Najib, meanwhile, is fully aware of his plight but does not see himself being ousted the way former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi went. Najib is as such preparing to remove Muhyiddin from the deputy's position and has in mind Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to replace him. Najib believes Zahid has done a good job in handling the Suaram onslaught against him and he wants to reward Zahid. And Najib has precedence to support him.
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