P94- Hulu Selangor - the scramble for votes......

With most analyst predicting a photo finish for the Hulu Selangor by-election, a mad scramble to convince fence-sitters, particularly Malay voters, in the final lap of the campaign. Like many other by-elections before this, top guns from both sides of the political divide will be making their presence felt, but the most widely talked about vote canvasser is PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

He is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim today before visiting at least two Barisan Nasional strongholds in a bid to tip the scales towards Pakatan Rakyat's.

Nik Aziz is expected to declare PAS' stance on what BN labelled as Zaid's 'liberal' views, before going on the charm offensive in trying to convince the largely conservative Malay electorate, especially in Assam Kumbang, Rasa and Batang Kali, that the former law minister is their best choice come Sunday.The senior PAS man is seen as the ace in the hole for Pakatan in 'cleansing' Zaid's image after the BN's kaki botol (alcoholic) and kaki judi (gambler) smear campaigns against the PKR candidate, which had shown some effect with Muslim voters.

Felda flashpoint

While Nik Aziz tries to soothe his way through the hearts and minds of the Malay electorate, other Pakatan leaders will be flooding the Felda settlements in a last ditch bid to swing votes.

Early this morning saw the launch of a two-day National Felda Settlers Gathering event at Sungai Tengi, organised by the pro-PAS National Felda Settlers Childrens' Association (Anak).

The Felda settlement, located in Hulu Bernam, will be visited by a slew of top-ranking Pakatan leaders including PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, Zaid, PAS Selangor chief Hassan Ali, central committee member Muhammad Sabu and Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali.

Zaid's schedule is tight with visits to mostly Malay-centric areas starting at Taman Sungai Buaya (4pm) followed by Pekan Rasa (8pm), Apartment Teratai (9pm), Sg Tengi, Hulu Bernam (10pm), Hulu Rening, Batang Kali (11pm) and Kg Melayu Rasa Tambahan (11.30pm).

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim also threw his weight behind the campaign with a dialogue session with Felda settlers at Kg Sungai Buaya in Rawang. BN may have mobilised their forces a bit later, but it is no less hectic for electoral debutante P Kamalanathan, though his schedule for the day seems to focus more on non-Malay areas.

It would appear that the BN machinery is not leaving anything to chance by letting their candidate focus on Indian, Chinese and Orang Asli areas such as Ulu Yam, Kuala Kubu Baru, Kerling and the various Orang Asli settlements dotted around the constituency. - Joseph Sipalan and Regina Lee.

source:malaysiakini





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