GE13: Pakatan Stands to Win Seven Extra Parliamentary Seats
I have this general impression that Umno MPs have a better knack at carrying out their duties, especially in taking care of the people in their constituencies. The same can’t be said about the newbie PKR MPs. Reliable sources have said that there are quite a number of people, namely in constituencies in Penang, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, who are not happy with the MPs they had elected. These MPs would have to rectify the situation or else the vote count will not be in their favor come election time.
Many of us – the public, politicians and pundits alike – are speculating that the General Election will be held within the first quarter of 2012. Some say in March, others say April. Meanwhile, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had advised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to hold it off as long as possible (deadline is 2013), a signal that BN still has a lot to do in their effort to revive the party’s dwindling popularity. The general perception is Pakatan would put a smackdown on BN if iNajib is to call for election any time soon. Even Mahathir has inferred this strong possibility. But whatever it is, Najib is the one who’s calling the shots.
However, there’s weight to Mahathir’s prediction. We’re talking about a former premier and Umno president who never makes a habit of underestimating his political rivals, and he was bang on when he said, in 1990, that Umno would not be able to reclaim Kelantan in 20 years. Kita President Datuk Zaid Ibrahim also recognizes that there’s merit to Mahathir’s premonition.
“Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will get his majority in Parliament if he dissolves it at the end of the present term and if he takes the time to consolidate his position. He will win only if he cares to question those of his advisers who are gung-ho about a BN victory. The people around him will probably continue to give him a false sense of confidence but if he is more realistic and takes his time, victory will be his – even if it is a close call,” said Zaid in his blog.
These conclusions highlighted by Mahathir and Zaid are deductions. To get a clearer picture, the numbers in the last elections would help in putting into perspective where Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat stand in the 13th General Election. The way things turned out, there are seven parliamentary seats won by BN and an Independent (who is formerly from PKR) that can be identified as shaky, seeing as these wins were by less than 500 vote majority. These figures already show that the Opposition has a very good chance in winning the GE13.
