Last weekend, former UMNO strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad issued an ultimatum to BN chairman Najib Razak: nominate UMNO's Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali in a seat at the coming polls.
“I hope BN will give Ibrahim Ali a spot. If he is made a candidate, I will go to Pasir Mas to campaign,” pledged Mahathir, who is also Perkasa's patron.
"If we have more individuals like Ibrahim Ali, Malaysia will be safe" ran the now-famous line.
But Ibrahim was nowhere in sight as BN's final candidates list was announced. Instead, Najib picked Ibrahim's right hand man Zulkifli Noordin, to stand under BN in Shah Alam.
I'm so popular
In Pasir Mas, where Ibrahim boasted of his popularity among locals there and had won by standing as a PAS candidate in 2008, BN's candidate is Pasir Mas UMNO deputy chief Che Johan Che Pa.
Ibrahim today wondered why, and urged Pasir Mas voters to support the BN candidate. Yet, he still offered to contest as independent "because the locals want me to".
While seen as a comic relief by many, Ibrahim had recently attracted public outrage for organising a protest to burn Malay-language bibles - which faded out amid mute response.
If Ibrahim is dumped due to his racial rhetoric, then the choice of Zukifli to stand in Shah Alam is baffling to many. Zulkifli's penchant for abusive and vulgar language on his critics is after all well-known, unmatched even by Ibrahim’s standard.
Only recently, Zulkifli angered the Hindu community by condemning Hinduism. His blog is also littered with vulgar innuendos despite his claim of "fighting for Islam".
Ibrahim’s snub and Zulkifli’s entry has cast deep doubts over Najib’s criterion that only ‘winnable’ candidates are fielded under the BN ticket. Based on the current logic, Wanita UMNO head Shahrizat Abdul Jalil would have been the ideal winnable candidate to bring down Nurul Izzah Anwar in Lembah Pantai!
-Harakahdaily
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