— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 16, 2012
MARCH 16 — There is a reason why Najib Razak is going to Selangor nearly every week: Getting back the country’s richest state is the minimum passing mark he has set himself in the coming elections.
Umno insiders say that Najib and his strategists do not believe Barisan Nasional (BN) can regain its two-thirds control of Parliament, but think that winning back Selangor will assuage Umno members and prevent a coup attempt against him.
And that is why Najib is using money like water in Selangor and spending nearly every weekend in some district there. And that is also why Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has reason to be worried about the sudden increase in the number of voters in constituencies in the state.
As it stands, Najib is confident that he will still be the prime minister and that he will do slightly better than Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. But not everyone in Umno believes that Najib’s advisors are giving him the right information, with some betting that anything between six and 10 parliamentary seats will fall in Sarawak, and that a good number of seats in Johor will also be lost.
On the flip side, Umno is confident that Kelantan will be retaken and Perak will stay with BN. Najib is due to visit Perak tomorrow and meet folks in Beruas and Ipoh, among other places, to convince them that his coalition is the best for the state. Continue reading “Najib wants Selangor, badly”