BN can win Selangor in three-corner fights
(Bernama) – Three-corner fights in the next general election can be an advantage and an easy passage for Barisan Nasional (BN) to win back Selangor, which is being ruled by a PKR-led state government since 2008 general election.
The projection was made by the Darul Ehsan Institute (IDE) based on the findings of IDE Survey on Issues and Perceptions of Selangor Voters, tabled by its deputy president Prof Mohammad Redzuan Othman today.
The survey was carried out from Aug 26 to 30 involving 1,761 respondents in Selangor.
Its findings found that the chances and advantage for BN to win back Selangor depended on the coalition’s stable and solid voters.
Redzuan said being the ruling federal government would also give an advantage to BN to highlight their administrative capabilities through the mainstream media, which mostly had become the people’s choice.
“When the survey was conducted in rural areas of Selangor, most of BN supporters appeared loyal to the party, even when they were well aware of the speculations on the RM2.6 billion donation, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issues and the GST (Goods and Services Tax).
“This clearly shows that those issues have not affected BN supporters who view the country as still being under the control of the ruling government as the economy continues to grow and the country remains peaceful,” he told a press conference.
On the level of support of the Selangor people towards political parties, Mohammad Redzuan said if PAS, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and BN were contesting, PAS would receive 17 per cent support, PKR (48 per cent) and BN (35 per cent).
“Although the support for PKR was stronger, that does not promise victory for the party as a three-corner fights will only cause a split in the opposition and provide a bonus point for BN,” he said.
Mohammad Redzuan said that the findings also showed that BN’s strength lies on the coalition itself, which had less internal split as compared to the opposition in Selangor.
He added that the survey also found that BN could increase up to 15 per cent support by winning the hearts of fence-sitters as compared to the opposition, which seen to be quite difficult to even increase only five per cent support.
The Universiti Industri Selangor vice-chancellor opined that political parties in the country should be wise in leveraging the social media, particularly Facebook and WhatsApp applications.
He said this was because the survey showed that both mediums had a large number of users in the state and recorded up to 10 per cent increase this year compared to the previous year.
