BN, PR race for votes in Selangor landslide

Sixteen people died in the landslide which half buried the orphanage. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Rescue workers were not the only ones racing to be first to the Hulu Langat landslide on Saturday.

In the United States, both Malaysia and Selangor’s heads of government — Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim respectively — scrambled to book the next possible flight home.

The prime minister and mentri besar are due to visit the site today, where the death count from the devastated Al-Taqwa orphanage stands at 16, including 14 children.

With Najib expected to call elections this year, neither Barisan Nasional (BN) nor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) can afford to be caught napping in the country’s richest state, set to be the main battleground in the BN chief’s quest for a strong mandate to lead.

“It’s a competition. We have to be on our toes,” PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told The Malaysian Insider.

Less than a day after the incident, Selangor promised the families of those who perished RM1,000 each, only to be trumped by the federal government’s RM10,000 pledge.

Even the DAP-led Penang government got in on the act, offering RM25,000 in aid. This was also beaten by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who threw in RM50,000 from his golf tournament into the hat.

By comparison, in the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide which destroyed 14 bungalows and forced 2,000 residents to be evacuated, it took an extra day for then-PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to say that the federal government would consider compensation to victims.

Rafizi, who was one of those evacuated in the December 2008 incident, said the state government was quicker to respond this time as a response team has since been formed.

PKR claims the state-funded team led by state deputy chief Zuraida Kamaruddin was first on the ground.

But this is contested by Petaling Jaya Utara Umno Youth information chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah who said that Umno Youth were the first to arrive.

“We got the SMS at 2.30pm when the landslide happened and we were there by 4.30pm.

“We cannot be just sitting around, we have to react immediately,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

What both sides agree on is that Selangor voters are watching. In the battle for their hearts and minds, neither wants to be seen as overpoliticising the event.

“When PAS Youth arrived, we co-operated. When it comes to a tragedy like this, we must be willing to work together,” Arman said.

Rafizi said that unlike previous disasters in the country, there was not much finger-pointing this time around.

“There isn’t any ring-fencing and all parties are able to contribute.

“Because of the two-party system, we’re seeing the public benefit in the end,” he said.

Najib, who is also Selangor Umno chief, recently told his party to use “any weapon at our disposal” to win back Selangor.

But PKR has begun its defence of the only state government it leads with an extensive series of ceramahs.

The Jelajah Selangor Tawan Putrajaya (Jelas) campaign has focused on economic matters as PKR hopes to convince voters that it can improve their standard of living as inflation continues to surge.