Pakatan continues to ride the wave in S’gor
Going by the sentiments on the ground, efforts by BN to win over Selangorians appears to be futile.
K Pragalath, FMT
The 13th general election is just a few days away. By the end of May 5, Selangor along with the rest of the Malaysia would have made their choice of government.
The 2008 polls was a turning point for Malaysia. The ruling Barisan Nasional unexpectedly lost five states to the opposition. They lost Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor. But BN retook Perak the follwoing year in a reverse takeover.
BN has never got over losing Selangor. In the 13th general election, Selangor is a vital state for BN to recapture.
Its importance is depicted in BN’s campaign – Sayangi Selangor, Yakini BN – which begun in late 2011.
Selangor has 21 parliamentary seats and 56 state constituencies.
Of these only Sabak Bernam, Hulu Selangor, Sungai Besar, Tanjong Karang and Sepang can be considered safe seats for BN.
The hot seats are the state capital Shah Alam and Pandan. In Shah Alam incumbent Khalid Samad of PAS is defending his seat against BN’s direct candidate, the controversial lawyer and Perkasa vice president, Zulkifli Noordin.
In Pandan, MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek dropped incumbent and former party president, Ong Tee Keat in favour of lawyer Gary Lim, leading to a three-cornered battle against PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli.
Politically the importance of Selangor was manifested when Prime Minister and BN chairman Najib Tun Razak appointed himself as the Selangor Umno liaison chief following the 2008 polls.
Urban Malays favour Pakatan
At this point, BN is even offering 20 cubic meters of water to match Pakatan Rakyat’s free water campaign in Selangor.
But going by the sentiments on the ground, efforts by BN to win over Selangorians appears to be futile. Pakatan’s daily ceramah sessions attract thousands of people.
Urban Malays seems to favour the incumbent Pakatan government led by the PKR in Selangor.
Among the issues raised by Umno/BN against the Pakatan government is the Allah matter.
They have also raised issues over DAP’s dominance in deciding the destiny of Selangor whereas PAS is depicted as having minor roles.
