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Biggest losers in Tenang – MCA and Chua Soi Lek

Tweets :-

Pakatan decries selective assistance to voters – Mkini http://bit.ly/ifO1m6
Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:28 PM

Incessant rain bad flooding discriminatory govt assistance 2ferry stranded voters n low voter turnouts have messed up forecast of Tenang b/e
Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:37 PM

Tenang b/e – Voter turnout when polls closed @ 5pm: Total of 10,585 voters or 71.75 per cent of the 14,753 electorate.
Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:40 PM

Very low voter turnout in Labis town – in Labis Tengah only 51.82%!
Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:03 PM

Very low voter turnout in Labis town – in Labis Tengah only 51.82%! 2008 GE turnout @ this station was 69%
Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:09 PM
Continue reading “Biggest losers in Tenang – MCA and Chua Soi Lek”

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Pakatan decries selective assistance to voters

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | Jan 30, 11 4:50pm
Malaysiakini

The day-long downpour in Tenang had caused flooding in many areas across this rural constituency in Johor, rendering several of the 12 polling stations inaccessible to voters.

Pakatan Rakyat complained that this had significantly reduced the turnout of Chinese voters, considered the ‘vote bank’ for the opposition.

Although police, army, the Civil Defence Department and various government agencies had been deployed to assist the voters to get to the polling stations, Pakatan leaders are upset that the assistance were not provided equally to all.

According to them, more transportation facilities were deployed in Felda areas, which are BN strongholds.

“Why are there no boats to ferry the voters in Labis town, which is also flooded, but Felda gets all the police and fire department boats?” asked DAP publicity chief Tony Pua in a tweet message.

BN secured 80 percent of votes in the three Felda settlements in Tenang in the 2008 general election.

“The failure to provide sufficient boats and trucks, and distribute them evenly across all polling districts will severely tilt the outcome of this by-election.

“The police and army should not just provide their assistance to selective areas because the flood is everywhere in the constituency.” he added when contacted by Malaysiakini. Continue reading “Pakatan decries selective assistance to voters”

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MCA continues to tell lies in Tenang by-election through its newspaper Star – but good luck to Chua Soi Lek continuing as MCA President!

Today is polling day for the Tenang by-election, the fourteenth since the 2008 general election.

The outcome of the by-election should be left to the 14,753 voters but it is most regrettable that MCA continues to peddle lies and falsehoods through its newspaper The Star.

In its analysis report today headlined “Up to the voters now to choose who is best”, Sunday Star wrote:

“Never mind that the Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Azahar Ibrahim is from Umno, it was the MCA that DAP, especially its adviser Lim Kit Siang, was after.

“A political observer viewed the DAP’s all-out effort to attack MCA as mainly an attempt to divert the community’s attention from the various breakthroughs the MCA has achieved since Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek became party president in March last year.

“’A stable and united MCA has always been a threat to DAP,’ reasoned a veteran MCA leader, pointing out that DAP’s survival hinged a lot upon MCA’s weaknesses as both parties banked on the support of the Chinese community.

“The fact that Dr Chua has adopted a low-key and personal touch in his campaign, such as personally meeting Tenang voters, has also put the opposition in a bind, remarked a political observer.

“As expected by many MCA supporters, Kit Siang had, in his ceramah in Tenang, challenged Dr Chua to step down if he failed to get the support of the Chinese community in the by-election.”

I had never in any ceramah in Tenang challenged Chua to step down if he failed to get the support of the Chinese community in the by-election.

Unlike the views of the majority of MCA leaders and delegates, I have no objection whatsoever if Chua continues as MCA President, regardless of the Tenang by-election result today. Good luck to him! Continue reading “MCA continues to tell lies in Tenang by-election through its newspaper Star – but good luck to Chua Soi Lek continuing as MCA President!”

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BN to win with 700-vote boost in majority

Ong Kian Ming | Jan 29, 11
Malaysiankini

PREDICTION

Tomorrow, Jan 30, and just four days before Chinese New Year, voters in Tenang will decide on the 14th by-election since the 2008 general election.

The outcome is not in doubt. BN will win this seat. Even the opposition has conceded as much. The only question that remains is BN’s winning majority and why the margin may (or may not) be important in the larger electoral picture.

Like most analysts and observers, I anticipate a higher vote margin for the BN than in 2008 as a reflection of the larger national trend of voters moving back to the BN in 2010, especially the Malay and Indian voters.

But the winning majority will fall far short of the 5,000-vote majority Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been predicting. Instead, I anticipate a majority of roughly 3,200 votes, or a 700-vote increase from 2008.

The increase in the BN majority will be from a five percent increase in the Malay vote, from 80 percent to 85 percent, and in the Indian vote from approximately 70 percent to 80 percent.

I expect the Chinese vote for the BN to remain at approximately 35 percent. I base these calculations on a 71 percent turnout rate, two percent less than the 2008 general election because of the proximity to Chinese New Year, and turnout rates of 77 percent, 71 percent and 58 percent among the Malay, Chinese and Indian voters. Continue reading “BN to win with 700-vote boost in majority”

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Factors that will shape tomorrow’s outcome

Bridget Welsh | Jan 29, 11
Malaysiakini

ANALYSIS

In this semi-rural constituency, rain and floods have dampened the turnout at ceramah and made for a low-key campaign. Walkabouts and quiet face-to-face campaigning, sometimes backed by ‘gifts’, have been the norm, as the BN aims to reach the lofty target of 5,000 majority and Pakatan Rakyat fights hard to win ground in an area that is far outside of its usual base.

No question, political watchers are fatigued observing this 14th by-election since March 2008, and hearing the same old issues of money politics and racial politics shaping the outcome.

For some, the fight for a few thousand votes in the protracted struggle for power is a distraction and waste of money. With an estimated RM150 million cost for campaigns in this tiny constituency, it is no wonder that cynicism has set in nationally.

It is important to understand that the Tenang by-election – its campaign and political significance – symbolise an ongoing climate change in Malaysian politics that has evolved since Najib Razak came into office. As with climate change generally, we do not yet know the impact, but its immediate effects are significant.

The Tenang contest will affect future campaigns and political fortunes, even though the actual result will likely remain in the BN column. Below, I describe three broad transforming features tied to Tenang and point to a few key factors that will shape the contest in tomorrow’s outcome and the size of the majority. Continue reading “Factors that will shape tomorrow’s outcome”