Fear of May 2013?

All indications show that the 13th general election will be a brutal and bruising battle as the wounded tiger is fighting for survival at all costs.

COMMENT

The general opinion among the Pakatan Rakyat political strategists is that parliament will be dissolved before April 28 next year, the date of its automatic dissolution. This is because if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak waits for the automatic dissolution, it will certainly highlight his weak leadership skills.

Most calculations show that the 13th general election will be held before the end of April and this means that there is a possibility for the new Pakatan Rakyat federal government to come into power by May 2013.

The attack on the public attending Pakatan’s political ceramah in Gombak on Tuesday night, Dec 4 is an early indication that BN cannot accept defeat.

“The incident in Gombak could be a forewarning of events to come during the 13th general election. The police should take stern action against the perpetrators as they have already been identified,” said Mat Sabu, the PAS deputy president to this columnist when asked to comment on the incident.

Dr Chen Man Hin, the lifetime advisor in a speech during DAP Women’s and Youth Congress on Dec 9, said  that “BN will use strange tactics to stay in power”.

All indications show that the 13th general election will be a brutal and bruising battle as the wounded tiger is fighting for survival at all costs.

Moreover, the BN supporters have been told to defend Putrajaya even to the extent of “broken bones and crushed bodies” or words to that effect. It will be the battle between the unstoppable force versus the immovable object.

DAP’s Puchong MP, Gobind Singh Deo remarked that “there should be a peaceful transition of power next year as Malaysia has always been touted by the prime minister as a model democracy. If BN tries anything unusual, BN themselves will fall as the fence-sitters will be able to see clearly BN’s true colours.”

PAS strategist and central working committee member, Idris Ahmad concurred by saying that BN’s fall is imminent if they try to do anything out of the ordinary as this is the era of New Politics and the old method of fear-mongering is no longer usable.

“In the 1960s era in Rantau Panjang in Kelantan, there was an incident wherein the village folks were prevented from voting as the bridge was torn down to prevent them from going into the town’s polling centre. This is the ancient tactics our enemies are employing now as they are staring defeat in the face,” added Idris.

It is also clear that BN leaders are hellbent on staying in power as their propaganda on the mainstream media is getting to be overwhelming while PM Najib goes about wooing the voters by promising this and that when what he promises is merely the duty of the government.

Fast-tracked citizenship

One thing most baffling is BN’s claim that they have the support of the masses and yet the date of the dissolution of Parliament is still very much a mystery.

BN leaders should realise that hooliganism as shown in the Gombak incident will only make the public turn against them. Or perhaps they do realise it and that is the reason why the foreign workers have been given fast-tracked citizenship so that their assistance can be employed on polling day.

Clearly those at the back of this citizenship scheme have lost their moral compass. In fact, the top leadership’s credibility is now being severely undermined by a ton of recent unsavoury revelations.

Thus those among the right-thinking rakyat are very unlucky to be living under this type of leadership that is thick on hype but thin in good, solid substance whereby economic policies and the nation’s roadmap and wellbeing are concerned.

The current leadership is now focused on holding on to power because the threat of losing power by May 2013 is real and looming. Financial investment plans or business expansion plans are being put on hold as everyone knows that the polls will be held not later than the end of June.

Those who are bent on staying in power are greedy as they already have had their heyday.

The old era has passed. Malaysians seem to be slow-learners in embracing political change although quick to adapt to the latest fads, gadgets and technology.

We need to be courageous to face a brave new world. Only then we can move forward. Civilization must progress in a holistic manner.

Currently in the Corruption Perception Index, although we have climbed up 6 places from 60 to 54, we are still behind Rwanda (50), Taiwan (37), Bhutan (33), Botswana (30) and Singapore (3). So our achievement is nothing to shout about.

Clearly BN’s reluctance to accept and respect the rakyat’s choice is evidence enough that the present incumbent government is not willing to let go of power. Therefore all this talk about ‘moderation’ as espoused by PM Najib is all hype and hot air.

Bear in mind that he is still silent on whether there will be a smooth transition of power in the event that BN loses and he has also once mentioned that BN will put up a roadblock to prevent Pakatan from taking over Putrajaya. Therefore the time has come for the rakyat to see PM Najib as the leader that he truly is.

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.