Election campaign has all but officially begun

As speculation intensifies over the date of dissolution of Parliament, the final lap of the months of campaigning heads towards its final lap.

The Edge business website reports receiving text messages from unnamed sources speculating that Parliament would be dissolved on 22 February, and that’s the date being mentioned in coffee-shops. The other theory is that elections would be held at the end of March. But then again, who knows for sure? People are plain tired of this guessing game anyway.

But the campaign appears to have begun all the same. A couple of people have received the following notice in their mail of a decidedly youthful looking Najib and a message:

Some parents of pupils, meanwhile, have already collected their nicely timed RM100 from the schools. Now there’s BR1M 2.0 coming up. Before that we had the smartphone rebates.

Najib and Rosmah meanwhile have visited Gaza – in what appears to be an attempt to court the Muslim vote ahead of the polls.

It appears to be neck and neck, if the UM survey is to be believed.

But it’s bad news from the Sabah front with the Royal Commission of Inquiry proceedings receiving some shocking testimonies (actually, not so shocking) of how foreigners were given identification papers so that they could vote in the state elections.

That has put Mahathir on the defensive. And next thing you know, Perkasa is talking about Bible burning. Don’t fall for the bait! It is so predictable they will use all kinds of racial and religious issues to divide voters (and opposition political parties) ahead of the polls. This is the Old-style Politics that Francis Loh discussed in this Aliran article, whose practitioners are terrified of losing ground to the New Politics (the multi-ethnic approach to issues of justice and governance e.g. Bersih 3.0, the anti-Lynas movement, etc). So the politicians practising Old Politics are trying desperately to make up lost ground.

Then another setback for the BN: another death reportedly involving the police. Not good.Malaysiakini reports: “Four police officers were alleged to have chased, handcuffed and then smeared turmeric powder on the face of a security guard, before beating him to death along with a mob at Taman Pekaka, Hulu Langat yesterday.” Now it the response is there was no turmeric powder, the deceased had gone amok and – wait for it – he died of a heart attack!

Meanwhile, the Felda Global Ventures share price plunged to a new low before bouncing back to RM4.51 a day later.

While over in Batu Caves, the controversy over the condo project has turned into a hot potato.The Nut Graph attempts to dissect the issue, and both sides of the political divide appear to have a lot to answer in this case. Which makes you wonder: are the developers more powerful or influential than the rakyat? Finally, the Selangor state government did the right and wise thing by cancelling the project.

So take note, state governments CAN cancel projects when they want to or then they have the political will to do so. None of that talk about being liable to pay millions in compensation here.

- anilnetto