Hulu Selangor, test case for the bigger picture
While things seems to be moving smoothly for the BN, the same cannot be said for the opposition, which is playing the wait-and-see game and this could prove suicidal in the wake of the mighty BN election machinery which is now still on low gear.
By M Kumaran, Free Malaysia Today
BATANG KALI: With 12-days to go before the nomination for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election, political parties from both sides of the divide have started campaigning in earnest in this sleepy hollow, minus posters and banners.
Observers say the move by both the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to start early campaigns for the April 25 by-election is because, a win in this seat would provide the much needed motivation and boost for them to push forward to win the hearts and minds of Malaysian voters generally.
“A win here would be good for either side. This seat represents the cross section of the Malaysian population in terms of race distribution. They, may it be BN or Pakatan, see this seat as a test case on how the Malaysian population made-up of various races would cast their ballots at the next general election.
“This by-election would also be used to see if these political parties are on the right track to win the hearts of the people. Any weakness would be remedied, while the strong points strengthened. There is a general feeling however that BN is making headway in this aspect,” a political observer said.
BN’s election machinery seems to be fully prepared to face the polls evident during Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s walkabout at the Kuala Kubu Baharu town on Saturday, where he also visited three Felda settlements in the constituency.
The smoothness of BN’s election machinery indicates that it had put behind its “internal bickering” on who should contest the seat after the country’s top two leaders (Najib and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin) revealed that the seat would most likely be contested by an MIC candidate.
The Malay majority seat was lobbied by Umno earlier, but except for the racially slanted Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia, things seemed to have quietened down.
