GE13: 'BN is riding against the wave'

Penang BN working committee chairperson Dr Teng Hock Nan appears to be very cautious of the ruling coalition's chances of scoring big in the coming general election, although he says that Pakatan Rakyat is not that healthy neither.

Teng, (right) who is state Gerakan chief, said that in Pakatan, everyone is riding on Chief Minister's Lim Guan Eng's "wave", who has shown himself to be stronger and more powerful than his party chairperson - Karpal Singh.

"Everyone will fall into place, for the time being, as party members before the GE. But whether they are happy or not, (I can say) definitely not," he told Malaysiakini in a telephone interview.

"But since Guan Eng is riding on the wave of the people who give him support, things are easier for him," he added, referring to the general election, which may be called by June but not due until May next year.

Speculation is rife that Teng has been "dropped" from the state Gerakan's proposed list of candidates for the 13th polls, about which he says it is "immaterial" whether he contests or not.

Back from the dead

Teng's political career hung in the balance in 2010, when he merelyscraped through and overturned with a slim majority, a vote of no confidence against him at the party's emergency general meeting.

Teng, a former state executive councillor, then said it would be much harder for the BN to score big in the coming contest as "we are riding against the wave".

He added that the BN component parties have to work together, harder, but this may eventually make the members "tired".

"It can become too strenuous, even though the team is working in unison, the result may not be very good. This is the reality and this would be the BN's very own doing" he said.

Teng, who was former Pulau Tikus assemblyperson, said that it was of paramount importance that despite all the challenges, the BN continues to work as a team, and speaks with one voice.

When asked what happened to the BN's walkabout, usually held on Mondays, but stopped after the Chinese New Year, Teng said, "We have ceramah now".

Teng is not the only one feeling the jitters as recently former finance minister and Umno treasurer Daim Zainuddin (left) said he expects an easy victory for the BN only in Johor, Malacca and Pahang.

Daim, a long-time friend of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had predicted the fall of BN in Penang, Selangor and Kedah in the 2008 polls.

He described Prime Minister Najib Razak as a "general without soldiers", where leaders at division and branch levels must be more proactive in engaging with the people.