Anwar ups the class war ante
The opposition leader continues to brand Najib and BN as servants of the rich cronies, who are oblivious to the suffering of the poor.
Populist “but workable” alternative policies in Pakatan’s “orange book”, which is technically its unofficial election manifesto, could also give Pakatan the added advantage against rivals in the battle for Selangor.
Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today
For Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, his urban election strategy is clear – capitalise on their sophistication to paint the Najib government as aristocratic rulers detached from the working class reality.
And last night the PKR de facto leader repeated the same messages in his ceramah here and around Selangor in an apparent early election campaign for him and his allies in Pakatan Rakyat.
“Najib Tun Razak is not a prime minister of the people,” the former deputy prime minister told some 700 supporters at the MPKJ Stadium. “He is a leader who knows not the suffering of those below him. He is a leader who serves to make the rich cronies richer.”
This has been the central theme for most of his speeches around the state. Anwar is now engaging in a class war to defend Selangor at all cost knowing that Najib has now made it his personal quest to regain the country’s most modern state.
Pundits believe winning Selangor will be a difficult but not an impossible task for Najib’s Barisan Nasional considering that Pakatan only leads with a less than 10-seat majority.
Marketable idea
The rural Malay and Indian votes are said to be returning to Umno and unfortunately for the bloc many of the seats held are Malay-majority constituencies. Pakatan’s future is not so secure.
With the lack of access to the mainstream media and BN’s superior election machinery, Pakatan may find it hard to penetrate the Malay heartlands in the state, which is why ensuring the urban Malay votes stay with the bloc is pivotal.
Which is why Anwar, ironically a free marketeer, has been dead set on selling his class warfare to the urban Malay voters, a marketable idea in light of skyrocketing inflation and stagnant wages.
The urbanites’ immediate exposure to inflationary pressure also eases Anwar’s aim to practise and promote what he calls “new politics” or discarding personal attacks in place of a healthier discourse on public policies.
