Battle to win over the fence sitters

Umno youth believes 50% of Penangites have yet to decide which way they will vote in the general election

BUTTERWORTH: Penang Umno Youth believes that 50% of about one million registered voters in the state have yet to make up their minds on who they will support in the next general election.

The battle for the hearts and minds of voters is between incumbents, Pakatan Rakyat, led by DAP and BN, with a handful of alternative political voices trying to create an upset.

State Umno Youth head, Sheikh Hussein Mydin, said the feedback from certain quarters showed that over 50% of the voters here remained as fence sitters.

“We believed that out of the remaining 50%, about 25% are Pakatan loyalists while the remainder are BN supporters or members.”

Sheikh Hussein said in view of the high number of fence sitters, DAP cannot claim that it has consummated all support from the Chinese.

“Likewise, Umno also cannot claim that it has the undivided support of the Malay voters,” said Sheikh Hussein.

“We hope that Pakatan can shed the arrogance plaguing their administration. Be humble as voters here can swing either way. The pendulum theory works well in Penang.”

After the 1990 general election, DAP had denied BN its customary two-thirds in the state legislative assembly, causing a surprise when DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang defeated the then Chief Minister, the late Lim Chong Eu in the Padang Kota state seat.

When the 1995 election emerged, DAP was poised to either repeat its electoral performance or capture Penang but it didn’t materialise.

History may repeat itself

Instead, the voters handed DAP a crushing defeat with pundits placing the blame on Kit Siang’s overly aggressive campaign of using the “Robocop” posters to intimidate voters.

History may repeat itself, as Kit Siang’s son Lim Guan Eng, the present CM is said to be waging an aggressive campaign of his own, bordering on arrogance, Sheikh Hussein claimed.

Nonetheless, BN has adjusted well to its role of opposition, Sheikh Hussein said, adding that the only drawback is that Guan Eng and his leaders apparently cannot stomach criticism.

Pakatan’s standard response is to belittle their critics or using online platforms to make nasty commentaries and in some instances, taking their dispute to courts, Sheikh Hussein said.

His views were echoed by state Gerakan vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe, who said the silent majority in Penang are growing by the day.

“The reason, is the voters can now measure the performance of Pakatan in the past five years against BN when it was in power,” said Wong.

The comparison is not just confined to Penang, Pakatan states of Kelantan, Kedah and Selangor, Wong said, adding that the fact that each state has its fair share of administrative woes and infighting to make people think twice about Pakatan.

Wong stressed that in view of the keen competition between Pakatan and BN for votes, the discerning voters are now also focusing on the calibre of candidates, fielded by either side.

“People want highly principled candidates, who can serve their interests well. Not the likes of NATO (No Action, Talk Only).”

Wong said gone are the days, where people blindly voted for parties. Now, there is a need to elect good politicians, who can bring their respective communities forward, while also aid in the nation building of the country.