Election fever running high in Malaysia
Political parties and police gearing up as electoral body chairman says early polls 'just around the corner'
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
Jan 7, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR - SPECULATION over Malaysia's impending general electionstepped up a notch yesterday when the election chief reiterated that thepolls are just 'around the corner'.All police officers and personnel have had their leave periods frozenindefinitely, further fuelling the speculation.'We have several reasons for doing so, the main reason being that we need tohave dry runs. There are many things that we need to do when the electionsare called,' police chief Musa Hassan was quoted as saying by The SundayStar yesterday.The Election Commission, which oversees the running of elections, is alsogearing up for the polls, chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said in aninterview with the newspaper, the weekend edition of The Star, the biggestEnglish daily.'When I say the election is around the corner, you better believe me becauseit is not a joke. It is definitely not a joke. You don't joke about thesethings,' he said.This is the second time in recent weeks that he has hinted that electionsare close.NO JOKE'When I say the election is around the corner, you better believe me becauseit is not a joke. It is definitely not a joke. You don't joke about thesethings.''

ELECTION COMMISSION CHIEF ABDUL RASHID ABDUL RAHMAN

As well, Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) vice-president Fong Chan Onn confirmed yesterday that the party's election machinery has been asked togear up.The impending election - the second for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi - hasbeen anticipated for a long time.His mandate does not end until mid-2009, but the speculation is that thepolls will be held sooner rather than later because of the uncertain globaleconomic outlook, among other factors.While the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is expected to romp to victory,it is unlikely to repeat its spectacular performance of 2004 when Datuk SeriAbdullah had just taken office.The election will be closely watched because it will be seen as a reflectionof Malaysia's race relations, which are increasingly strained.The Sunday Star's front- page report yesterday feeds into growingspeculation among opposition and ruling party politicians that the pollswill be held within a couple of months.The conventional thinking is a date in March, just before the legal ban onformer deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's eligibility to stand as an electoralcandidate expires in April. He is under a five-year ban on standing inelections due to a conviction over a corruption charge.Datuk Seri Abdullah has not given any hint, but pundits are reading signalsin the heightened grassroots preparations and the slew of announcements likea new body to investigate police misconduct.An official of the MCA told The Straits Times that the party is alreadypreparing for an early election.The opposition is doing the same. Mr Tony Pua, who will stand as candidatefor the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), said everyone seemed to beanticipating an election very soon.He told The Straits Times that the DAP recently found flags and bannersflying in three Selangor state constituencies, which suggest heightenedpolitical readiness.The government's recent tabling in Parliament of a Bill to set up a body toinvestigate police misconduct also sparked further speculation as this wasamong the promises made at the 2004 election.Last week, MCA president Ong Ka Ting announced a RM10 million (S$4.4million) government allocation for Chinese schools, seen as a move toplacate Chinese voters who have been angered by their perception of thegovernment's stronger Malay agenda.Government leaders have said they are convinced that the majority of votersare still behind them, despite facing problems over the spiralling cost ofliving, fear of crime, and increasingly strained race relations.____http://blog. limkitsiang. com/2008/ 01/07/najib- you-are-wrong/

Najib, you are wrong
Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 06: 06.30
by Richard Teo

Yes the tide is turning in Kelantan but certainly not in favour of BN butfor PAS. As a kelantanese I can safely tell Najib the true current politicalsituation in Kelantan. How could Zubaidah Abu Bakar speculate in the 6thJan.2008 NST that "there are many in Kelantan who want to see a change ofgovernment"?This is farthest from the truth. The Malay psyche in Kelantan is vastlydifferent from the psyche of Malays from the other states. The Malays inKelantan are astute when it comes to politics. That explains why it is theonly Malay state where the opposition party other than UMNO has ruled for asubstantial period since Merdeka.During BN's tenure, pork sellers in the Chinese market were harrassed daily.They were confined to a small inconspicous space where pork could be soldhidden from public view. There was conditional and restricted time when porkcould be sold. When PAS took over the government in 1990, they improved theChinese market and pork was sold without any restrictions. Inshort they were not harrassed.Again, during BN's tenure, Chinese could not buy houses built on Malayreservation land. Since most of the land come under the purview of Malayreservation, most Kelantanese Chinese could not own a home. But all thesechanged when PAS came to power.Under the able DUN of Kota Bharu, Dato Annuar Tan, 30% of houses built onMalay reservation land were allocated for sale to the Kelantan Chinese.Any doubts where the Chinese loyalty lies can easily be dispelled byvisiting the Chinese enclave in Jalan Kebun Sultan. Ask any Chinese businesscommunity there and they will brazenly tell you that they will vote for PAS.Yes the Chinese votes in Kelantan are solidly behind PAS.It is also a fact that the Chinese miniority's vote in Kelantan areinsignificant and confined to only few seats where their votes are crucialfor victory or loss. But in a state where a lot of seats are won and lost bya handful of votes this becomes immensely important where in the finalanalysis the fate of the government could merely depend on the margin of oneor two seats.The Malays in Kelantan were generous in giving Pak Lah a resounding victoryin 2004. But this was partly due to PAS over-zealous Islamic reforms whichpersuaded the Malays to vote for Pak Lah's Islam Hadhari. Further they werecaptivated by Pak Lah's assurance of tackling corruption which was beginningto be rampant in all branches of the government. But alas, Pak Lah was adisappointment. Instead he took it as an opportunity for his relatives andfamily to plunder the nation's wealth by giving contracts to his son andson-in law.There is a saying among the Malays in Kelantan that UMNO can fool the Malaysin the other states with their rhetoric of 'Ketuanan Melayu' but they cannotfool the Malays in Kelantan. They are aware that BN has introduced manyprogrammes and development projects.According to Datuk Annuar Musa "RM2 billion worth of projects are flowinginto the state". But the local malays will ask you who are the beneficiariesof these projects? Yes, its the UMNO cronies and the UMNO connectedpoliticians who will secure all the major contracts.Of late, the sprinkling of Indians are also behind PAS not due to Hindraf'seffort but because of the awareness that it was under PAS rule that aprominent land in Jalan Hamzah was approved for the Hindus to build a templewhen the same approval was rejected by BN four times before.Because of centuries of close proximity of Kelantan to Thailand and theclose rapport between the Chinese and the Kelantanese Malays, the localMalays are not only intelligent and well-versed in commerce but they arevery conversant with local and federal politics. This perhaps explain whyUMNO with their brand of politics can never fool the Kelantan Malays.In the coming general election BN will not only lose in Kelantan it willlose as badly as in 1990. This is not only a fact, it is a promise.