The most important issue in the Hulu Selangor by-election on April 25 is to send the stirring message to all Malaysians all over the country that the time has come for national change of power in Putrajaya come the 13th General Elections.
Yesterday at the launch of the DAP SuperSunday 18 Walkabouts by DAP MPs, SAs and party leaders in 18 locations in the Hulu Selangor constituency, I had said that the Hulu Selangor by-election is no sure-winner for the Pakatan Rakyat and our candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and there must be no complacency on the part of any Pakatan Rakyat campaigner, whether DAP, PKR or PAS.
I had used some wrong data for the 2008 general election results for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary and the constituent three state assembly constituency results for Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Baru, but the underlying thrust of my warning remains unchanged.
To put the record straight, the Barisan Nasional polled a total majority of 6,176 votes in winning the three state assembly seats of Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Baru but for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary contest, the BN incumbent candidate G. Palanivel lost the seat to the PKR candidate Datuk Zainal Abidin in a wafer-thin majority of 198 votes.
Palanivel secured 22,979 votes for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat, which is 3,285 votes less than the total of 26,264 votes cast for the three BN state assembly seats.
Clearly over 3,000 voters for the BN at the State Assembly elections in 2008 did not vote for Palanivel but split their votes by voting for PKR at the parliamentary level.
Will these 3,000 voters go back to BN in the by-election?
It is clear that the BN strategists are also zeroing on these 3,000 “split” votes in the last general elections, which explains the talk emanating from Umno camps about BN winning the by-election with 3,000 majority on April 25.
Undoubtedly, the resort to very dirty and unscrupulous election campaigning by Umno, including character assassination of Zaid, is meant to enhance Umno’s chances of ensuring BN victory in the by-election.
All Pakatan Rakyat election workers should be on notice that the Hulu Selangor by-election is of paramount importance not only to the constituency and Selangor state but also the future of Malaysia and go all out to ensure that every vote counts if Zaid is to win in the uphill by-election on Sunday.
[Speech at the Pakatan Rakyat Hulu Selangor by-election ceramah in Kalumpang on Monday, 19th April 2010 at 10 pm]