Toffee Rodrigo | October 25, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
According to Muhyiddin Yassin’s camp, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage, given that the middle-class and Christians will be distracted.
COMMENT
Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin’s boys want the general election this year. They are pushing Muhyiddin to pressure Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to dissolve Parliament by Nov 30.
Muhyiddin’s supporters feel Nov 30 should be the latest date, or else Umno and Barisan Nasional will be in trouble.
According to them, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage.
The strategic advantage they are talking about is in East Malaysia. A December poll, they believe, will give the Christians (read opposition) less time to campaign, they will be busy with Christmas and have little time to dwell on politics.
And this will be good for the BN as far as Sarawak is concerned as the natives will be also too busy with the festivities to seek out the alternative media. They will thus depend on the propaganda dished out by the government-controlled mass media especially the radio and TV.
In West Malaysia, the middle class, which is seen to be anti-establishment, will be busy taking holidays. Many of them may not be around even to vote if the election is called in December.
And this is what BN needs to win back states like Selangor and Penang.
The Christians in West Malaysia, too, will have little time having to prepare for Christmas, schooling for the children and holidays and may not be around in their respective constituencies.
Muhyddin may get the boot
Najib, on the other hand, does not think so. He believes he is gaining ground with the Christians and needs their support.
Najib reckons MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s peddling of the hudud around every nook and corner will compel Christians to opt for the BN even though many in their ranks deplore the BN.
Now within Umno there are two groups with different views.
Muhyiddin’s supporters are convinced that Najib is just wasting time as he knows this is his last term.
Muhyiddin himself is growing increasingly frustrated. He is confident of an even worse showing for Umno-BN than in 2008.
He is sure to make moves to push Najib out sooner than later.
Najib, meanwhile, is fully aware of his plight but does not see himself being ousted the way former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi went.
Najib is as such preparing to remove Muhyiddin from the deputy’s position and has in mind Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to replace him.
Najib believes Zahid has done a good job in handling the Suaram onslaught against him and he wants to reward Zahid.
And Najib has precedence to support him.
Zahid’s as ambitious as Mukhriz
He is doing what former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad did to his deputy Anwar Ibrahim.
This move, if carried out, will sideline waiting Mukhriz Mahathir who has thrown his lot behind Muhyiddin.
Zahid is no novice and will not settle to being a “stop gap” deputy. He will be gunning for leadership and is more apt to win than Mukhriz.
Muhyiddin is hoping to do to Najib what the latter’s father did to Tunku Abdul Rahman.
While Najib does not command the grassroots the same way his father did, Muhyiddin does.
And to Muhyiddin’s advantage he has also the support of others who have clout over their respective grassroots.
How that battle plays out is left to be seen as all ministerial appointments will be the prerogative of the prime minister, and Najib may use that to his advantage.
In the meantime, both Najib and Muhydiin are playing out the best wayang kulit in town.
Toffee Rodrigo is a businessman who spends his free time writing to create awareness. He blogs at Toffee’sTurn
In December, the Christians may be busy but it is a time when they will also be united together. So they may vote en bloc against BN if they are not happy especially with the current anti-Christian attacks.
Don’t for get the monsoons which will be a disaster for the north, east and north-east and Borneo states.
Besides, the BR1M 2.0 will not be paid yet and the ‘happy-happy’ effect will not be felt yet.
But there could be some truth about a December polls though. Tanda Putera is slated to come out towards later part of November, starring perhaps Mr Lim in some sort of suggestive cameo role.
And Naj1b might want to avoid that November / December UMNO General Assembly where some uneasy members might just vent their frustrations on him. The Malay Chamber of Commerce is already agitating. So are the ordinary taxi-men. There could be plenty more unhappy people around.
If you talk about Sarawak & Sabah, there is validity to MCA’s strategy but MCA don’t operate there. Even then, Sarawakian and Sabahan don’t have familiarity with PAS. In the Peninsula, the evengelical Christian are highly urban in Chinese majority seats and won’t make any difference..
If these rumours are true, Muhiyiddin sounds like the smarter one right now but not that he got anything to offer.
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Updated.
During December, the Christians may be busy but it is a time when they will also be united together. So they may vote en bloc against BN if they are not happy especially with the current anti-Christian attacks.
Don’t forget the monsoons which will be a disaster for the north, east and north-east and Borneo states.
Besides, the BR1M 2.0 will not be paid yet and the ‘happy-happy’ effect will not yet be felt.
But there could be some truth about a December polls though.
Tanda Putera is slated to come out towards the later part of November, starring perhaps Mr Lim in some sort of suggestive cameo role.
And Naj1b might want to avoid that November / December UMNO General A.sembly where some uneasy and restless members might just vent their frustrations on him. The Malay Chamber of Commerce is already agitating ‘business not enough’. So are the ordinary taxi-men. There could be plenty more unhappy people around.
Muhyiddin should actually do a coup against Naj1b now. Else if Naj1b wins and BN rules, then Muhyiddin will most certainly be out. And should Muhyiddin dethrone Naj1b, then he, Muhyiddin, will be a lame PM without his own mandate and he will not be able to call another election so soon. So move, Muhyiddin or be sidelined.
According to Muhyiddin Yassin’s camp, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage, given that the middle-class and Christians will be distracted. – End of quote
Big mistake!
As the late Steve Irwin of Crocodile Hunter fame would say!!!
In fact, Malaysians who are opposed to the regime are ever ready to vote.
This very minute, this very second!!!!
What’s so difficult to decide if one were to choose between the Devils and the Angels??
It’s a no brainer!!!!!!
Call the GE now, this very moment and Make Our Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your confidence of winning determines good-time or bad-time. Your past deeds determine confidence level of winning. Your values determine good deeds or bad-deeds. Your conscience determines good values over bad values.
Is your conscience clear? Every day is a good day for election…
Muhyiddin knows Najib is delaying the 13th GE for his own selfish reason.
Najib had missed opportunities …when he was having a good chance to be elected…gone…because of his very selfish and calculative character ….on and on….so much so…the delays have actually prove he has so much to hide and is afraid of losing.
Marshall Monty’s Deputy is posting with intelligence.