BN can win Kedah, says Daim
(ST) – Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, who accurately predicted the 2008 poll results, said he believes Barisan Nasional (BN) can wrest back Kedah, but said it is difficult to predict if the ruling coalition can get a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
In his assessment of BN’s chances in several key states in the May 5 election, he warned against being over-confident.
In addition to Kedah, Tun Daim was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying that he also believes BN stands a good chance of recapturing Selangor, as long as the ruling coalition’s leadership in both states is united.
Selangor, Malaysia’s wealthiest state, is now run by the Parti Keadilan Rakyat; and Kedah, once the ruling Umno party’s stronghold, was seized by Parti Islam SeMalaysia in the 2008 political tsunami that saw BN’s worst showing in a general election since 1969.
Even in Kelantan, Mr Daim said the mood had changed slightly in BN’s favour.
“I believe BN will win more seats in Kelantan this time around. However, I’m not sure if the party can form the state government there,” he was quoted as saying yesterday by the New Straits Times.
Mr Daim, however, was less optimistic about Penang, saying it would be hard to wrest Penang back from the opposition, The Star reported.
Penang had been the fortress of BN component party Gerakan since 1969, before it was won by the Democratic Action Party in the last contest.
The opposition might win a few more seats in Sabah and Sarawak, he said, but he is confident that BN will not lose its grip on the two states.
Calling some high-level officials in the Cabinet “dead wood” without naming them, Mr Daim urged them to step down and make way for a new administration.
Several ministers are not contesting and will not be part of the Cabinet if Datuk Seri Najib Razak returns to power after the polls.
In 2007, the Umno veteran told Chinese-language daily Nanyang Siang Pau that Selangor, Penang and Kedah could fall to the opposition in the 2008 elections.
All three states, as well as Perak, were indeed won by the opposition, though Perak went back to BN after several state assemblymen defected.
