The circus in Gelang Patah

Reminds you of anyone?

Fifty-fifty. That's what most people offer when you ask for the odds on the Ghani Othman-Lim Kit Siang contest for Gelang Patah. The odd gambler would put it at 45-55. One seasoned chap said it started at 40-60 but has since climbed to 48 per cent but still in favour of Lim Kit Siang. Considering that 53 per cent of the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat's voters are Chinese, and given the perceived "solid" Chinese support that DAP claims it is getting, Ghani's camp ought to be pleased with the improving odds, if indeed things were what they had been made out to be.

These, of course, were before Najib Razak's tour of the Johor battleground yesterday. Yesterday's visit, the pundits say, has given a boost to Ghani's "Johor Way". Johor fan yong (prosperous). Ghani, chong yong (moderate, likeable). You can almost feel the beat and sense the mood from afar. Shamsul Akmar, editor of the KL-based Mole, captures the spirit well in A Malaysian Opportunity in Gelang Patah. 

"Ghani is not just anybody. He was the Mentri Besar of Johore who had served the state since 1995 and if the state has progressed and the Chinese has prospered, surely they would not have any qualms in returning him as their Member of Parliament.

"Surely he stands head and shoulder above Lim who is the Ipoh Timur MP and would not have the track record to prove to the Johoreans at large or the people of Gelang Patah.

"In short, Ghani who has set up home in Johore would surely be preferred to Lim who is part of the travelling carnival candidates, who moves from one seat to another, under whatever guise it may be." - www.mole.my

Will the circus settle down permanently in Gelang Patah, or will it just be passing by? We shall see come May 5. After Najib's visit and with cracks showing within the DAP itself after Norman Fernandez's outburst against hudud and a hardly bottled-up contempt for Kit Siang and the other DAP ":outsiders" contesting in Johor, expect a bigger-than-usual circus to come to Gelang Patah in the next few days to bolster the odds. And with any circus, expect a lot of clowns.

-rocky's bru