Soon after the Election Commission (EC) announced that poling for the 14th general election will take place on Wednesday, May 9, a new catchphrase is going viral on social media.
The Malay word for Wednesday, Rabu, has been converted into an acronym – R.A.B.U ‘Rakyat Akan Buang Umno‘ (the people will discard Umno).
Among those who shared the catchphrase was DAP’s incumbent Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim, who tweeted: “Pahlawan sangat la tu (What a warrior), set hari undi hari kerja (Fixing the polling date on a workday). Apa-apapun: Rakyat Akan Buang UMNO (RABU).”
The warrior remark was aimed at caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who has described himself as a “Bugis warrior”.
The EC’s decision to hold the election on a working day has drawn flak from the opposition and other quarters.
The commission has been accused of making it difficult for voters, especially those who are outstation, to return to their respective constituencies to vote.
The date had also ignited speculation that BN and Umno have grounds to be concerned about the voting pattern.
The coming election has been described as the “mother of all polls” with both Najib and his former mentor turned nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad banking on Malay votes.
Mahathir, who is leading the opposition pact Pakatan Harapan, is confident that a Malay tsunami would tilt the balance of power.
Umno leaders, however, have dismissed this.
The EC, in a press conference this afternoon, also announced that nomination of candidates for the 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats would be held on April 28.
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