KUALA LUMPUR: Tomorrow, over 8,000 polling centres will open across the country for Malaysians to cast their vote in by far, the most intense battle to form the government in the nation’s 56–year, post-Independence history.
It is a crucial time as the notion is finally sinking among voters that this time, they really hold the key to the country’s future direction.
While the fight for the 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats takes centre stage, what is really at stake is whether the people will embrace the transformational leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, or hand the fate of the country, for the first time, to an untested opposition alliance, the partners of which share little in common, except for their ambition to occupy Putrajaya.
Najib is leading the Barisan Nasional (BN) into the polls for the first time as prime minister since taking over the reins from a battered Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in April 2009, 12 months after the political tsunami of the 2008 General Election which saw the BN losing its two-thirds majority and the states of Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor to the opposition.
He has been quick to launch the 1Malaysia concept and the transformation of government, politics and socio-economy to pave the way for a brighter and more inclusive future for all Malaysians.
With the economy humming on track towards 2020, the timeline for Malaysia to become a First World nation, Najib’s biggest challenge is to convince voters that the 13-party BN government not only has the will to change but that the transformation it has embarked upon, is the right way.
Despite the opposition mounting its largest ever assault, Najib remains steadfast in seeking a larger mandate to ensure that he has the strong backing of the people, and the required stability to continue with his task and deliver on the BN manifesto pledges that include fair and equitable policies for all races in Malaysia, and greater prosperity ahead.
“This election is about fulfilling promises, bringing hope and upholding trustworthiness. It should not be about empty promises, spreading lies and instigating hatred.
“I appeal to you to watch, listen and think carefully before deciding on the future of the country,” Najib said in an open letter to the people.
His voice hoarse from an exhausting campaign that has taken him to the length and breadth of the country, Najib has pointed to the broken promises in the opposition-ruled states, including Kelantan which had fallen out of mainstream development in the past 23 years under PAS rule.
Najib’s tenacity and his economic stewardship, underscored by national growth of 5.6 per cent last year amid the global economic sluggishness, is a thorn in the side of the opposition which is trying to outshout the BN’s tranformation theme by calling for “Ubah” (Change).
The popularity of the prime minister, who has 1.5 million Twitter followers and 1.7 million likes on his Facebook, is seen as a key factor to win over more votes and sway fence-sitters for the BN, especially its component parties like the MCA, Gerakan and MIC that did not perform well in 2008.
A record 13.27 million voters are on the electoral roll, a jump from 10.9 million in 2008, meaning that every other Malaysian can have a say in choosing the next government. A fifth of them are new voters, raising expectations of a good turnout on Sunday. The 2008 polls posted an attendance of 76 per cent.
The road to Putrajaya has been littered with partisan bickering, expulsions of rebel members by both the BN and opposition, arson, physical violence and for the first time, the exploitation of the social media that has spewed much vitriolic criticism and cyber bullying of open supporters like famous Bond actress Datuk Seri Michelle Yeoh for her resounding endorsement of Najib.
During the 15-day campaign period, the longest in three decades, there were renewed tensions in the opposition camp as PAS insisted that hudud laws will be implemented if the opposition alliance comes to power, leading to DAP chairman Karpal Singh demanding that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim make his stand.
Anwar took over a week to respond to the issue which has caused great unease among the non-Muslim voters, and his stand bared another fissure between the PKR and DAP against PAS.
In a posting on his blog yesterday, Anwar said the implementation of hudud was impossible without a two-thirds majority in parliament to amend the Federal Constitution, and that hudud was not an objective of the opposition.
Undoubtedly, one of the hottest fights is the Chinese-majority Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in Johor between outgoing Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, the first between an Umno heavyweight and the itinerant Lim who is contesting in his seventh parliamentary constituency in 10 elections.
The mild-mannered Abdul Ghani has raised concern over the opposition’s attempts to polarise Chinese voters but believes that his track record and solid performance will speak for themselves.
Another flashpoint is the tussle in Putrajaya as BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor defends the parliamentary constituency in a straight fight with PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa.
In the Klang Valley, the derby race is in Lembah Pantai where incumbent and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar squares off against Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister.
In 2008, the BN garnered 140 parliamentary seats but following a series of by-elections and representatives going independent, the balance has adjusted to BN 135, opposition 77 and 10 independents, by the time Parliament was dissolved on April 3.
The Perak state legislative assembly is also back in the BN fold, following defections by three opposition representatives. — Bernama