Najib revs up Selangor BN

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today moved to beef up BN's election machinery amid speculations of early polls, with its very own fleet of mounted election activists.

Numbering at 1,500, the convoy of motorcycles with fluttering BN flags on their machines revved their engines and honked as Najib inspected their ranks.

The launch today was part of the premier's attempt to galvanise his support base on the southern front in the fight to recapture Selangor from the Pakatan Rakyat.

Speaking at a BN gathering in Puchong, Najib asked the over 5,000-strong attendees if they were ready for battle.

To this, those clad in the trademark blue BN T-shirts responded with a resounding "Yes".

"There is another group, I have no idea where they got this T-shirt. I was surprised when I saw my face on their chests... Are you ready to battle?", he asked as those wearing the tees with the premier’s face  shouted, "Yes".

"And what about the third group, those wearing other clothings, is your heart with BN?", Najib added as they responded on cue.

The dreaded L-word

In contrast to events earlier in the day in Najib's Sunday blitz across Selangor, the premier dropped his formal tone and wasted no time in serving BN's core supporters with red meat, cheekily asking if opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim could be prime minister.

"No," they responded, to which Najib added, "why not?"

The question solicited a noisy response with many making reference to Anwar's sodomy case.

"I didn't hear anything," quipped Najib before posing the same question to the crowd with PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Najib said he has heard the plight of the people under the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government and called on supporters to retake Selangor at all cost.

Touting his people-friendly persona, Najib said, "I and (US) president Barack Obama, we are 'steady', but when I go to the ground I can still connect with the rakyat."

"I have worked tirelessly (to ensure victory), working day and night until my wife is complaining that when I go home, all I do is get a pillow and immediately go to sleep... nothing else has happened," he said with his trademark grin.

'Need to close ranks'

The country's economy and policies, Najib said, has been "beautifully" managed and the final ingredient for victory was on the political front.

On this, he stressed the need for supporters to close ranks in the battle for Selangor, as the enthuasiastic crowd replied in agreement.

While the grassroots appeared fired up, Najib set his sights on local leaders as he pointed to the passive BN Selangor leadership on stage asking, "What about them, are they united?"

"If you are loyal to the party, even if you are not chosen as a candidate (to contest in the elections) and close ranks behind the chosen candidate, BN will win. We have done beautifully for the economy and on policies," he said.

The gathering today was meant for supporters from five parliamentary constituencies - Sepang, Puchong, Serdang, Hulu Langat and Kuala Langat.

In the last general election, BN lost all parliamentary seats in the south of the state except for Sepang, and saw its majority in state seats it retained in the prized state greatly reduced.