Message from the by-election
Compared to Najib, Anwar has done too little. The Selangor state government’s performance is not satisfactory and local government services are having a great room for improvement. Perhaps, the poor performance of PR has caused it unable to move forward and increase its support rate.
By LIM SUE GOAN/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily
When PKR’s candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim passed by a polling station, he did not stop but left. Meanwhile, BN’s candidate P. Kamalanathan cordially shook hands with the voters. If they were contesting in an urban constituency, Zaid, with his popularity and image, might be able to win. But when it came to a small town, Kamalanathan’s strategy of going down to the ground worked better.
As expected, BN has won the Hulu Selangor by-election, mainly because of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s efforts over the past one year. The current political situation is different from the 8 March general elections.
There are numbers of factors for the victory of BN, but as a conclusion, the “Najib effect” has played a role here.
Najib’s liberal image was a great help in fishing and keeping non-Malay votes. Even though the voting tendency of Chinese voters were similar to the 8 March general elections, DAP’s attempt of increasing Chinese votes to 85% that intended to offset the lost Malay votes has eventually failed. The lose of Chinese votes might be related to the party crisis of MCA.
Part of the Indian votes also returned to BN because of Najib. It has also helped to restore the face of MIC. Najib must adhere to the current liberalisation direction, curb the right-wing and conservative forces in the party in order to win more non-Malay votes and retain the federal political power.
Despite some returned Malay votes, the narrow victory showed that it was not enough to stabilise the overall situation. BN needs more non-Malay votes in the future.
The reclamation areas were the key of BN’s victory and it was also related to Najib. Elders in these areas were grateful for Najib’s father, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak and thus, they voted for BN.
In addition, Najib’s strong capability also helped to consolidate Malay votes.
The defeat in the Hulu Selangor by-election was the first failure of PR in its own state. It was indeed a blow to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the party. However, if we see it from another point of view, it also tells PR that: “This is a warning that the people’s support should not be squandered. The overall situation is still uncertain and more efforts are needed.”
Compared to Najib, Anwar has done too little. The Selangor state government’s performance is not satisfactory and local government services are having a great room for improvement. Perhaps, the poor performance of PR has caused it unable to move forward and increase its support rate.
There are still two years for PR to improve. If it still cannot overcome its weaknesses and perform better, but just wants to seize the federal power by pleasing the people with populist approaches, it will end up getting nothing at all.
The Hulu Selangor by-election has also exposed the lack of cooperation and understanding among the three component parties of PR. For example, PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat joined the election campaign only two years before the polling day. It was not enough to resist BN’s offensive.
The by-election result is a good outcome as BN won only with a majority of 1725 votes, or 2.67% of the total votes. It is only a tiny gap. It means that both the parties must work harder and more cautiously in order to win the decisive swing votes.
Hulu Selangor is a multi-racial constituency and the result tells UMNO that it should take the middle path. As for PR, it is on the right direction but it must reduce politicisation and work harder. It will only benefit the people if both the parties have received a clear message from the by-election.
