Najib keeps shooting – all alone

The Selangor BN chief is practically leading a one-man crusade to wrest back the wealthy state.

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The battle for Selangor is intensifying with both sides of the political divide going all out to win the hearts and minds of the voters.

Leading the charge for the Barisan Nasional (BN) camp is Najib Tun Razak, who is also the BN chief for the state. The defending “champion” Pakatan Rakyat has Anwar Ibrahim, whose personal image is being slowly chipped away by BN and his former friends-turned-foes.

Selangor, which fell to Pakatan in the 2008 general election, is a “jewel” for both sides as the state is wealthy and well developed. It also is the magnet for young people scrambling for jobs.

These young voters and rural folk who migrated to the state have been the target for both rival parties who are outdoing each other to provide a “social welfare umbrella” for them.

BN under the charge of Najib aims to wrest back Selangor and recent events, such as public display of grouses and grievances of voters against the Pakatan state government, raised hope that BN can topple the incumbents.

Notwithstanding the corruption case of former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) scandal as well as the Lynas controversy, BN seems to have found favour with these voters now.

Najib has been hitting the ground in the state at least twice a month, and has been getting enthusiastic reception from disgruntled voters who would crowd around him during his forays.

Selangor voters have a lot of complaints about the Pakatan government. These mostly middle-income voters who comprise 70% of the electorate are unhappy with the high rentals for business premises, poorly maintained low-cost apartments, inefficient garbage collection, water woes… and the list goes on. For them, BN appears to be the only “friend” capable of solving their problems.

Influence evaporating

Seeing an opportunity, BN is quick to take advantage of the plight of the voters. It has promised them prompt assistance if it takes over the reins in Selangor.

Meanwhile, Pakatan is struggling to keep afloat as its influence among the middle-income group, particularly the Malays and Indians, is fast evaporating.

Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and PAS are also facing credibility problem, no thanks to former Selangor PAS chief and executive council member Hasan Ali.

Hasan, who was sacked from the party at the height of the internal squabbling, has been relentlessly criticising his one-time friends in his nightly ceramah.

He is casting doubts on the ability of Khalid and PAS to defend the sanctity of Islam, a line of attack that is striking a chord among the Malays in the state.

The prospects for Pakatan in Selangor look grim but the good news is that the urban Chinese voters are said to be still betting on Anwar’s horse despite MCA’s attempts to win them over.

Najib is practically doing a one-man show in Selangor, a commander without soldiers. Although his deputy liaison chief Noh Omar has lately been coming out to back him, it appears that the help has come rather late.

Still, Najib has faith that his hard work will pay off come the fight of his political life.