Written by Wong Choon Mei
Prime Minister Najib Razak kept alive speculation of snap general elections being held this year when he said that “everything” was being geared towards nationwide polls, but kept mum on when.
Nonetheless, the once red-hot anticipation is already starting to fade, with many believing that he will stall for as long as he can.
“Does he think he can win? If he does, he should dissolve Parliament immediately,” Bukit Gantang MP Nizar Jamaluddin told Malaysia Chronicle.
“My personal assessment is he will wait until the very final moment because he knows he is a loser. All this is just talk to deflect attention from Umno members. Using the prospect of GE, he, MCA and Gerakan have rushed to postpone internal party polls to safeguard their own skin. I don’t buy it although we have no choice but to prepare ourselves for it because we can’t risk being caught flat-footed.”
Wants to be re-elected
There has been talk that Najib will soon go on a nationwide tour of all Umno divisions with his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin to rally support from the Malay community. He is also due to meet all 136 BN Members of Parliament this weekend to gather their feedback.
“The purpose is normal, they want to meet me and I too want to meet with them to know the situations in their respective areas. It is both ways — I need to tell them what to do and I need to know their positions in each of their constituencies,” Najib told a press conference in Putrajaya on Friday.
“Everything is geared towards the GE because we want to be re-elected. We want to serve the people. First of all, we have to serve the people and then let the people decide.”
Let the people decide. Really?
But his actions belie his liberal words. Critics point to his handling of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest and his insistence on foisting his chosen candidate Khusrin Munawi on the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government despite their objections.
There is growing concern that realizing how popular the Pakatan state administratrion is, Najib will use "dirty" means including force to regain control, hence, his insistence on making Khusrin the state secretary to co-ordinate activities for him.
"The problem is Najib says one thing and does another. It has become his trademark. His comments have not shed much light on the GE. In fact, it looks like it will be further away rather than nearer," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
In the 2008 general election, the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim swept to power in 5 of the country’s 13 states but although the Pakatan took more than 60 per cent of the popular vote in the peninsular, landslide support for the BN from Sabah and Sarawak helped the ruling coalition to stay in federal power.
In the next general election, which must be called by 2013 at the latest, Pakatan is expected to gain further ground as Najib has failed to put in place any meaningful economic or social reforms since inheriting the Umno presidency and premiership from his predecessor Abdullah Badawi.
Prime Minister Najib Razak kept alive speculation of snap general elections being held this year when he said that “everything” was being geared towards nationwide polls, but kept mum on when.
Nonetheless, the once red-hot anticipation is already starting to fade, with many believing that he will stall for as long as he can.
“Does he think he can win? If he does, he should dissolve Parliament immediately,” Bukit Gantang MP Nizar Jamaluddin told Malaysia Chronicle.
“My personal assessment is he will wait until the very final moment because he knows he is a loser. All this is just talk to deflect attention from Umno members. Using the prospect of GE, he, MCA and Gerakan have rushed to postpone internal party polls to safeguard their own skin. I don’t buy it although we have no choice but to prepare ourselves for it because we can’t risk being caught flat-footed.”
Wants to be re-elected
There has been talk that Najib will soon go on a nationwide tour of all Umno divisions with his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin to rally support from the Malay community. He is also due to meet all 136 BN Members of Parliament this weekend to gather their feedback.
“The purpose is normal, they want to meet me and I too want to meet with them to know the situations in their respective areas. It is both ways — I need to tell them what to do and I need to know their positions in each of their constituencies,” Najib told a press conference in Putrajaya on Friday.
“Everything is geared towards the GE because we want to be re-elected. We want to serve the people. First of all, we have to serve the people and then let the people decide.”
Let the people decide. Really?
But his actions belie his liberal words. Critics point to his handling of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest and his insistence on foisting his chosen candidate Khusrin Munawi on the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government despite their objections.
There is growing concern that realizing how popular the Pakatan state administratrion is, Najib will use "dirty" means including force to regain control, hence, his insistence on making Khusrin the state secretary to co-ordinate activities for him.
"The problem is Najib says one thing and does another. It has become his trademark. His comments have not shed much light on the GE. In fact, it looks like it will be further away rather than nearer," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
In the 2008 general election, the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim swept to power in 5 of the country’s 13 states but although the Pakatan took more than 60 per cent of the popular vote in the peninsular, landslide support for the BN from Sabah and Sarawak helped the ruling coalition to stay in federal power.
In the next general election, which must be called by 2013 at the latest, Pakatan is expected to gain further ground as Najib has failed to put in place any meaningful economic or social reforms since inheriting the Umno presidency and premiership from his predecessor Abdullah Badawi.
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