Najib fighting uphill battle

The prime minister has started his roadshow to rally party faithful and the people to the BN banner amidst a grim political and economic scene.

KUALA LUMPUR: While the public and politicians are busy looking at the crystal ball for signs of the next general election, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is having a bigger headache.

The political and economic scene is gloomy – so much needed to be done and yet so little is accomplished.

On the economic front, all the transformation programmes and the billions of ringgit worth of investments look impressive on the surface.

But in reality the economic benefits and spinoffs are not trickling down to the kampung folk who are the core Barisan Nasional (BN) voters.

Politically, the country is having an overdose of politics; with so many issues emerging on the domestic stage, voters are being fed with various versions until they do not know which ones are true.

Najib’s main problem is deciding when to call for the 13th general election as he has to get the mandate of the people to run the country for the next five years.

While he is keeping the date of the national polls close to his chest, he is busily moving around the country to prepare party faithful for election day.

Going by his tight schedule, some political observers believe Najib may pick November, instead of March next year, for the battle of the ballots. Indeed, he will be meeting voters every weekend in a run-up to the countdown.

Difficult times

The prime minister has introduced all kinds of transformation programmes but so far, the fruits of the endeavour are slow in coming.

However, the programmes may have given the business community a boost in the wake of the global economic downturn.

But it is the rural folk who are feeling the pinch in these difficult times. Najib’s mega projects do not mean anything to them and their frustration is mounting.

To get the roadshow underway, Najib went to Permatang Pauh, Penang, yesterday, ostensibly to attend the national-level Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house celebration. The underlying political message is clear: he is bringing the fight to the bastion of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

But political observers believe it will be an uphill battle for the Barisan Nasional to topple the Pakatan Rakyat state government. So far, there are no chinks in the administration of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

After Penang, he will be in Selangor, another Pakatan-ruled state. For him, Selangor is a ripe target for a takeover considering that the opposition partners – DAP, PAS and PKR – are not really on good terms.

They have been at loggerheads over several issues and not even Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, from PKR, is in control of the state, according to observers.

The lastest issue was the raid on a church in Petaling Jaya where Khalid is seen to have handled it badly in the eyes of the Malay voters.

Najib, being Selangor Umno liaison chief, is working hard to wrest back the state, the richest in the country, which has always been an Umno stronghold until the 2008 general election.

Solo crusade

However, Najib appears to be undertaking a solo crusade given the weak position of the state BN.

Selangor Umno is split into three factions with one leaning on deputy liaison chief Noh Omar while the other two are small players who can still throw a spanner in the takeover works.

Selangor Umno is only united when Najib chairs the liaison committee meeting, which is not exactly good news for him. The ruling opposition alliance may be in disarray but the internal rift in the state BN is making Najib’s “take back Selangor” mission even more difficult.

If Najib is looking for help from MCA in the Selangor campaign, he can forget it because the party is still shunned by the Chinese voters, especially those in the urban areas.

The Chinese voters in Selangor feel MCA can no longer play an effective role in championing their cause. Most of the time, the “goodies” they got was the result of Najib’s “personal touch”.

MIC appears to be in a better shape than MCA but the party is just picking up the pieces with its new president yet to get a firm grip on his presidential seat.

Thus Najib is “fighting a lone battle” in Selangor and possibly a lost cause.