‘PARLIAMENT TO BE DISSOLVED AFTER IT ENDS ON APRIL 5, GE14 TO BE IN FIRST FEW DAYS OF MAY’: UMNO’S NST MAKES NEW FACE-SAVING PREDICTION FOR FLIP-FLOP NAJIB AFTER MCA’S THE STAR MISSES ITS FORECAST

KUALA LUMPUR 05 May 2013. Orang ramai beratur panjang untuk mengundi PRU 13 di Sekolah Kebangsaan Seksyen 7, Kota Damansara. NSTP/Mokhsin Abidin

KUALA LUMPUR – The wait is nearly over. The momentum for the 14th General Election (GE14) enters its final lap this month, with the polling day likely to take place in the first few days of May.

Signs of a May polls are quite clear: Parliament could be dissolved as early as the end of this week after the current session ends on April 5.

Upon the dissolution of Parliament and state assemblies, elections must be held within 60 days.

In practice, elections are held, within 29 days of dissolution.

This means that the polling day for GE14 would be in the first week of May, with the results to be known within hours after voting ends.

Some 14.8 million people are eligible to vote in the election.

In the run-up to the polls, Barisan Nasional had slated April 7 as the release of its main election manifesto at a mammoth rally in Bukit Jalil here.

This would be followed by the release of a BN manifesto focusing on youth on April 10, its Youth wing’s chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, said yesterday.

Some 30,000 BN supporters were expected to attend the April 7 event, which starts at 8pm. It will be televised live.

BN traditionally releases its manifesto after the election is called. This will be followed by the announcement of its candidates, this time to be held well before nomination day.

BN leaders and workers are bracing for a hectic month.

“Things will be busier after next week,” one senior Umno official told NSTP.

A key consideration in the run-up to GE14 is the Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation of constituencies, which was approved by the Dewan Rakyat last week.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V had given his royal assent to the redelineation, which will then be gazetted.

EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah had said the new boundaries could be gazetted in just a few days after the royal assent was obtained.

With new boundaries marked, the list of candidates being finalised and the election machinery in place, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would then advise the king to dissolve Parliament.

The announcement of the dissolution could be held as early as April 6, a day before Najib unveils the BN manifesto, which would carry his party’s pledges for the next five years.

This is the second time Najib, who would mark his ninth year
as prime minister on April 3, is leading BN into the general election.

Najib, who had been keeping a gruelling work schedule, was expected to deliver a keynote address to senior civil servants on April 4 before flying to Sarawak for an overnight trip.

He will stop in Miri, Marudi and Bintulu for a series of events before returning to Kuala Lumpur on April 5.

Universiti Teknologi Mara senior lecturer Associate Professor Datuk Dr Ismail Sualman, said it was time that the government obtained a mandate from the voters.

“The longer this is delayed, the more issues will crop up, including fake news.

“I think the nomination of candidates will take place on April 21, while polling day is on May 5,” he said.

Sungai Besar member of parliament Budiman Mohd Zohdi, however, predicted that the dissolution of Parliament would take place next Friday.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia geostrategist Associate Professor Dr Azmi Hassan said April 4 could be the date Najib dissolved Parliament, as it would happen a day after his ninth anniversary as prime minister.

He believed there were no more outstanding issues, given that the Dewan Rakyat had approved the redelineation of electoral boundaries, and that the economy was on solid footing.

“The redelineation of borders is the indicator of when the date (of Parliament’s dissolution) will be.

“With the Election Commission ready, the announcement of candidates could be held a week after Parliament is dissolved. We could even see a minimum campaign period of 11 days.”

Malay heartland may decide polls’ outcome

CIKGU Talib Abdullah, a 77-year-old former teacher, takes to the microphone like a duck takes to water.

An eloquent speaker, he told a group of elderly Malay men in the predominantly Malay constituency of Masjid Tanah in Melaka that if not for Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad could have lost in the 1987 Umno election.

Standing on the stage in front of some 100 people, Cikgu Talib spoke of how Najib helped deliver the votes from Umno Youth that led to Dr Mahathir beating Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah by just 43 votes for the Umno presidency.

Najib was then the Umno Youth head.

His message to the audience was crystal clear: It is about royalty and respect for the leader. “Najib yang paling ikut arahan,” he said.

The former teacher, who has cast his vote in 12 out of 13 general elections and is eagerly waiting for the next election expected soon, said he has some respect for Dr Mahathir but will not support him.

“I don’t like how he behaves now. I don’t think his new party will get any support here in Masjid Tanah,” he said.

“During Dr Mahathir’s 22-year rule, nobody dared to speak against him.”

The 92-year-old Dr Mahathir, who was also Umno leader for 22 years, has turned his back on Umno following a fallout over his son’s future in the party, and has since led the disparate opposition front.

Dr Mahathir’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), which has only one seat in Parliament today and two state seats, wants to make electoral inroads into Malay-majority areas like Masjid Tanah, which has 51,557 voters, of which 83.5 per cent are Malays.

It aims to contest more than 38 parliamentary seats, more than what the Democratic Action Party (DAP) won in the last general election.

But for Cikgu Talib and the people at the gathering yesterday, they don’t see PPBM making any inroads into Masjid Tanah, which is a very safe Umno seat.

By the way, its current member of parliament is Datuk Wira Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, the national Puteri Umno head, and its division chief is Datuk Seri Abdul Rauf Yusoh, the Umno Malaysia executive secretary.

What matters most to the rural folks here and elsewhere are their basic needs like clean water supply, street lighting, better mosques and surau, better roads and better education and jobs for their children.

The Malay heartland, according to analysts, is likely to determine the outcome of this upcoming election.

Cikgu Talib Abdullah

Barisan Nasional leaders have and are listening to heartland voters. They must continue to embrace the opportunity to elevate their very real concerns to Putrajaya.

But like in the US, our mainstream media tends to give more weight to the plight of urban voters, leading to a real disconnect between the establishment and the heartland people.

The parties that really feel the pulse of the people stand a better chance at the polls.

Any economic benefits must also filter down to the village level. There are cases where there is still no piped water supply in parts of Sabah, Sarawak and in the peninsula.

Despite rapid urbanisation and rural-urban migration, there are still some 81 rural seats in Peninsular Malaysia alone.

Umno, being the dominant Malay party, must stay focused on the bread-and-butter challenges facing hardworking families.

The party cannot be fixated on silo messages to specific groups that don’t include the rural folks. I don’t think the poor in Terengganu can directly relate to the Selangor water crisis.

The BN election manifesto, to be unveiled on April 7 ahead of the polls, should also focus on championing new policy solutions in infrastructure, education and small business that will elevate the economic fortunes of ordinary people.

This is especially so for those in rural areas and small towns who feel their concerns aren’t being adequately addressed.

These people have higher expectations now. As such, the government’s rural policies must evolve to meet the changing times.

– NST