Today is the day the of the three by-elections: Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai. Reading blogs from both sides, one would be confused. On one hand, pro-BN blogs and politicians says they are confident, and they will win. On the other, pro-Pakatan blogs and politicians says they are confident and cautious, but they will win too.
Online news reports and analysis by various people are just as confusing. One thing is quite certain – Batang Ai will probably go to BN. Even if PKR manage to win that seat, it would be by a very slim majority. On Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang, both stand a chance to win. RPK said that he wish for the two Bukits to be won by a majority of 2500 – 3000 votes.
I, personally, of course is hoping for a clean sweep by Pakatan Rakyat – not because I am an avid supporter of that coalition. Mind you, they are plagued with a myriad of problem ranging from religious fanatics to party hoppers, mostly in the PKR camp. Barisan Nasional however, is much worse, and I could not bring myself to support it currently. After 52 years in power, the country is in shambles. Unity is at an all-time low, and world rankings on almost anything is deteriorating. The only list we are able to be on recently is the OECD tax haven blacklist.
On a not entirely unrelated matter, Najib Tun Razak was “made” the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, to the joy of many, and to the dismay of many more. It was, however, expected by everyone. Immediately after his inauguration, he announced the release of 13 ISA detainees, a review of said act, and a lift on the ban on two political newspapers. A lot of the people has praised the actions, and a lot has criticised him as well for a range of reasons.
I, personally, are hopeful but sceptical. If he was sincere in his actions, he would have expressed his disagreements when the people were detained under ISA, and again when the ban was imposed on the newspapers. The fact that he chose to announce these seems to indicate to me that he serves his personal interest more. For one, he wants to be seen as popular, novel, and less repressive. For another, he might want to win over more votes for his party in the by-elections today.
Furthermore, the ghost of Altantuya still follows him – he has not been able to provide any convincing arguments or evidence to clear his name. If he had been a normal Joe, the “innocent until proven otherwise” argument would hold. However, he is the Prime Minister. If he cannot convince the people of such a damaging allegation, I doubt his policies (e.g. 1Malaysia) would be convincing. The way BN orchestrated the demise and the coup of the Perak state government is also attributed to him. The return of Mahathir to the party as well as to the political front-line also continues to disappoint me.
On the other hand, his website seems to embrace the culture of Web 2.0, which is encouraging to see. I doubt he personally understands all of these though. It’s been said that he has a team of PR and media consultants behind him. Moreover, he is going to be the leader of UMNO and the Prime Minister of Malaysia for years to come. Frankly, if there’s anyone who can introduce a major shift in UMNO and Malaysia now, it is him. As much as I dislike UMNO and is unsupportive of him, I am hopeful.
As I said, hopeful but skeptical. For now, I will continue to enjoy some live updates of the by-elections…
Before I forget, the DAP has produced the following video to encourage voters to go back to vote in this by-election. Coming from Malaysia, this is quite possibly one of the best advertisement yet, and is certainly on par with the many produced for Petronas during festive seasons: