The Last Tango

Can you hear it? The war drums are beating or, as the Malays say, gendang dipukul. The battle cry is resonating loudly. And the natives are getting extremely restless. Very likely, the 13th General Elections will be held in late October to early November after the Budget.

But the 13th general election is not just the 13th general election. It is the final showdown between Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. It is the Battle Royale, the final determination of the last man standing. This is the crucial test as to who will reign Putrajaya as the Emperor of Malaysia and who will sit out his final days in the Sungai Buloh Prison.

But this is not about a turf war between two people who think they are God's gift to Malaysia and therefore should be Numero Uno in the administrative capital of Malaysia that used to be called Perang Besar before the name was changed to Putrajaya.

This is about who shall take the reins of leadership and guide Malaysia through the most critical period where the brain drain and capital flight over the last couple of years promises to relegate Malaysia to the level of a third world nation with third world mentality.

This is about what lays in store for the rakyat if the country is torn apart by battling giants who will lay waste to whatever little is left of this country. Is there not a Malaysian saying that when the elephants fight the grass gets trampled?

A few weeks ago, RPK already predicted that the 13th GE will be held after the Budget - which means the Budget is likely to be an 'election budget' with a lot of goodies to beguile the rakyat into voting for BN. He said:

The government realises how dangerous it is to allow the march to go on. To a certain extent the November 2007 march, BERSIH 1.0, had an affect on the March 2008 general election. They are worried that the BERSIH 2.0 march may also affect the next general election, whenever that may be held -- probably on 11 November 2011 or 11-11-11 according to some estimates.

Lim Kiang also spoke about it here.

RPK has planned for the MCLM AGM to be held outside Malaysia in December because he expects the BN to retain the Federal government which will mean all doors are closed for his return to the country. If not, he would have planned for the MCLM AGM to be held in KL. The AGM will be held outside Malaysia with a video link or SKYPE connection for those in Malaysia to participate.

The performance of Pakatan Rakyat thus far leaves much to be desired. There is a huge gap between what was promised and what has been delivered. Because of this Pakatan Rakyat may fail to win the confidence of the voters. Najib is not about to twiddle his thumbs and let Pakatan take over and then spend a long time in the Sungai Buloh Prison for a variety of crimes, maybe even murder.

Still, it is not too late for Pakatan Rakyat to get its act together. This 'Last Tango' in the guise of the 13th GE will be a life-and-death struggle between Najib and Anwar.

And only one man will be left standing at the end of it. It is winner takes all and loser lose all. One will die and the other will be "immortal'.

Obviously, the stakes are high and this is a fight to the death and could be brutal and bloody, figuratively speaking.

Recently, when Tengku Razaleigh unveiled his Amanah Angkatan Tentera (Amanah), he hoped that Amanah would help the silent majority make their voices heard to break free from political manipulators holding the country at ransom as it emphasised the spirit of sincerity to boost racial ties, as propagated by the Tunku. While some argue that he could be a Trojan Horse within UMNO, I believe he could be the check and balance needed in UMNO.

Then there would be three camps within UMNO - Najib, Muhyddin and Ku Li. Such a three-way split, could weaken UMNO from within - a positive development for PR.

For sake of rakyat, Amanah (Ku LI) and MCLM must team up to ensure rakyat get a good deal and are not screwed in this Battle Royale. Amanah is seen as pro-govt and MCLM as anti-govt. At this point, both must form an alliance and become non-partisan for the good of the rakyat.

Whatever the case, the next GE will be a strong metaphor depicting the personal struggle between Najib and Anwar because the loser is going to 'lose his head on the chopping block'.

However, all have to work to ensure that rakyat's interest are not sacrificed.

We can be sure that Najib and his team are NOT going to let Pakatan take over because the repercussions of electoral defeat would be an earth-shaking experience for BN. However, if Pakatan does not make it then Anwar will go to prison for Sodomy 2.

So Malaysians, this is the end game and the stakes are high and the price for losing even higher. Either side could go to prison. And the 13th GE will decide this.

And that is what this is all about--- not about the interests of the rakyat.

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EC appoints returning officers, polls imminent by Malaysiakini

The Election Commission (EC) has started to appoint returning officers for all constituencies, a sign that the next general election could be called in the next three to five months, with November seen as having the highest possibility.

According to a report in the Chinese-language Kwong Wah Daily today, the appointment letters for all returning officers were issued over the past two weeks.

By convention, a general election is called three to five months after the issuance of the letters.

"Talk that the general election is around the corner is widespread. All the indicators show that all quarters are preparing for it," reads the report.

The EC has also identified venues for nomination centres, while the Education Department is selecting schools to be used as polling stations.

"The relevant schools have been instructed not to lease out their halls in November," states the report.

It also claimed that the police are preparing for the polls to be held in November.

However, it added that both BN and Pakatan Rakyat are yet to finalise seat allocations, making this the only element lacking in preparations for snap polls.

Speculation abounds

Yesterday Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily reported that all divisions of BN component parties in the 222 parliamentary constituencies have been told to submit lists of preliminary candidates to BN chairperson and premier Najib Abdul Razak and the ruling coalition's top leadership as soon as possible.

Quoting sources, the report said the instruction was issued by the BN leadership before the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally.

Judging from the current political scenario, it added that the 13th general election will probably fall in November, or in March or April next year, with higher possibility of the latter.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has also speculated that the electoral battle will be held this year.

"However, when Najib cut short his overseas trip... the possibility of polls being held in October or November has again returned to the fore," he said in a statement issued yesterday.

He was of the view that the next general election will be the most important one in the nation's history, as voters will decide whether there should be a change in federal rule.

"All Malaysians must grasp the possibility for the first time in nation's history for change of government in Putrajaya," the MP for Ipoh Timor added. - masterwordsmith