BOMBSHELL – BN VERY SURE OF WINNING 100 SEATS IN EAST MALAYSIA ALONE: NAJIB ‘SUPREMELY CONFIDENT’ GOING INTO GE14, SAY UMNO MEN

ONE fact was unmistakable during Prime Minister Najib Razak’s recent trip to Singapore: his confidence that Barisan Nasional will win the 14th general election – and win comfortably.

This confidence was evident at official meetings and during discussions on the sidelines, leading Singapore officials to note the upbeat tenor and body language of the scandal-hit Malaysian leader compared with a few months ago.

‎So, is Najib’s confidence of winning GE14 grounded on fact, or was the bravado on display in Singapore a strategy to remind the leadership down south that they will have to deal with him for a long while yet, notwithstanding the continuing 1MDB probe?

Umno believes that it will win at least 140 parliamentary seats, and regaining two-thirds control of Parliament is very much on the cards, with one internal study putting the best case scenario of the party wining 170 of the 222 seats.

The reasons for this optimistic outlook: a strengthening economy, a less cohesive opposition coalition and the willingness of Abdul Hadi Awang’s PAS to contest as many seats possible and split the Malay vote bloc.

“BN is confident of winning at least 100 seats just in the Peninsula,” a source in BN’s election machinery told The Malaysian Insight.

BN is also confident of maintaining its support levels in Sabah and Sarawak, he said.

Of the 222 parliamentary constituencies, Sarawak contributes 31 and Sabah 25 seats. There are 165 seats in the Peninsula.

In GE13, BN won 133 parliamentary seats – 86 in the Peninsula, 25 in Sarawak and 22 in Sabah.

This performance by the ruling coalition was worse than what it achieved in 2008 when BN lost its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament, winning 140 parliamentary seats.

The dismal showing in 2008 was against the backdrop of voter dissatisfaction with Abdullah Badawi over his slew of unfulfilled promises.

This time, Najib is confident that Umno’s friendlier ties with PAS, its main competitor for the Malay vote, will put the coalition on a better footing and make it tougher for Pakatan Harapan to emerge victorious from three or multi-cornered electoral contests.

Policies and economics 

Studies and analyses have shown that BN benefits when it enters an electoral contest against more than one opposition party, as it splits the non-BN vote.

GE14 will likely see multi-party contests in almost all seats as BN faces PH and another pact led by PAS, a party that has deep roots among Malay Muslims who make up about 60% of voters.

BN is also more prepared going into GE14 compared with the previous polls, said KRA Group strategic director Amir Fareed Rahim.

“Plus, the PM is confident that senior Umno leaders in the top leadership are pulling their weight,” Amir said referring to Umno, the senior partner in BN.

BN Youth executive secretary Zaidel Baharuddin said Najib has regained the support of not only BN component parties but also investors and the business community.

“Firstly, BN (component parties) have settled their differences and their respective machineries are strong.

“Secondly, we have also succeeded economically. The economic indicators are up, exports have gone up, the ringgit is strengthening and stock market is also up,” Zaidel told The Malaysian Insight.

Najib’s success has also helped other BN leaders go on the offensive rather than be bogged down with countering opposition rhetoric.

“We don’t need to worry about what they say about us as we have our own policies which we are carrying out.”

Some of these policies have already been felt on the ground especially in urban areas, where the opposition got much support in GE13, said another Umno leader Razak Rizalman Mokhtar.

These wins include enhancing public transport through the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines, building 80,000 affordable homes and reducing crime, said Razak.

“Much of it has been delivered. The crime rate is also low. The public has seen much of what Najib has done,” Razak told The Malaysian Insight.

In GE13, BN lost in almost all the urban seats it contested. In Kuala Lumpur, it won only two out of 10 seats.

– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com