There’s something about Selangor

Najib's speeches now are no longer subtle. His message is loud, brash and clear.

COMMENT

The decision by the Pakatan Rakyat-helmed Selangor state government to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly next year seems to have greatly annoyed the Barisan Nasional leaders who have openly accused the Selangor government of being afraid of losing.

And Pakatan will lose Selangor because the dirty voter rolls will enable BN to regain Selangor easily.

As BN is so cocksure of getting back Selangor, it will only be a matter of time so it has to be patient for just a few more months.

Still, this means that BN’s plan to hold the polls in November, assuming that it is in November, has encountered a minor glitch for it must be thinking of recapturing Selangor in the 13th general election.

Maybe that is why BN is so cross with Pakatan. Yes, this must be the reason. The statement by the Election Commission (EC) that it is a waste of time, money and resources if Selangor were to hold separate polls is also most telling.

And perhaps it is this small hiccup that has caused Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to come out with a statement that he was “worried about the future of the Malays and the Muslims should the country come under a different regime” as reported in a local English daily on Sept 16.

Well, what have MCA and MIC got to say to this?

The same English daily also reported Najib as saying, “I believe those in DAP are not at ease with the position of the Malays and Islam. Just ask those who experience it in Perak and Selangor. PKR is weak. With its combination with others, and if DAP wins big, where will the Malays place their hope?”

True, ugly colours

What does this show about the 1Malaysia slogan and the credibility of Najib as the one who admitted that 1Malaysia is his brainchild?

Back to the question of the general election.

Assuming that the polls are planned for November, the latest strategy by the Selangor government has put BN in a fix as the prime minister has vowed to regain Selangor in the 13th general election.

This means that he will have failed in his mission if he were to hold the polls in November. It is this thought which must have irked him, is it not?

And postponing the polls to March next year is too risky. Some issues that lurk beneath may suddenly resurface to trouble BN besides the unpredictable global economic outlook.

Therefore, BN has embarked on a rampage in a frenzied attempt to garner support, especially from the business community where Selangor is concerned. Every Selangorian and especially the business community should remember that Pakatan’s prudent management has managed to save the state RM1.9 billion in reserves as at end of last year.

Thus BN now no longer bothers if its true, ugly colours are being revealed. It hopes the gullible rakyat will be blind to its faults and its Machiavellian motive to grab Selangor at all costs as well as to win big by regaining the two-third majority in Parliament.

BN’s election machinery has been activated and the groundwork already started. In the mainstream media, too, there is an overdose of BN’s propaganda advertorials. Is it possible for BN to sustain the momentum until March next year? By then, the rakyat will be so fed up and bored to death!

The momentum is hot

When the momentum is hot, it is best to hold the election and that is the reason why the prime minister is rushing against time. His speeches now are no longer subtle. His message is loud, brash and clear. The government-controlled print media have also been roped in to assist. It has all been systems-go since Aug 31.

However, in regard to the cleaning of the voter rolls, there is still no progress. No news even. Pakatan has written to the EC requesting for a meeting but to-date Pakatan is being ignored. The electoral roll is still as dirty as ever especially in Selangor. The increase in voters is especially serious in Subang (PKR MP, R Sivarasa), Kota Raja (PAS MP, Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud) and Serdang (DAP MP, Teo Nie Ching).

Also very bad are Ampang (PKR MP, Zuraida Kamarudin), Gombak (PKR MP, Azmin Ali), Selayang (PKR MP, William Leong), Kuala Langat (PKR MP, Abdullah Sani), Hulu Langat (PAS MP, Che Rosli) and Kuala Selangor (PAS MP, Dzulkefly Ahmad).

The increase in voters ranged from 18% to over 30% and does not commensurate with the increase in population in that particular seat. As long as the voter rolls are not cleaned up, Selangor will fall to BN.

Being an industrialised state, Selangor brings in lots of revenue and therefore is a great source of projects.

Before March 2008, whenever there is a project there is a commission and thus there is an established link between project and pocket and that is the reason why BN is like a hungry crocodile waiting to open its jaws to gobble up Selangor.

Selangor voters and in fact all Malaysians should try to do something to see that good governance prevails and one of them is voter-monitoring. As members of civil society we can question suspicious-looking outsiders who come to vote on polling day. We can politely tell them not to interfere with the country’s electoral process.

At the end of the day, everyone can play a role. No role is too small or too big for the ordinary citizen. We should all play our part to ensure clean elections so that our votes do count and that the election results are genuine.

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.