Nurul Izzah,touted to be future leader & BN/UMNO wants she be "taken down" at all cost...

Bangsar Baru with its leafy affluent neighbourhoods and trendy cafes serving artisanal coffee is a far cry from Kampung Kerinchi and Pantai Dalam where the residents are more accustomed to teh tarik and sup ekor. Yet these two areas are part of the federal constituency of Lembah Pantai, one of the next general election’s hot seats.
 
The incumbent is PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. She is touted to be the future opposition leader so there is much talk in Barisan Nasional (BN) circles that it is important she be “taken down.” To be denied re-election to the seat she won as a rank novice back in 2008.

Her opponent — even though it is still unofficial — is Raja Datuk Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, who is the federal territories and urban well-being minister. Although Raja Nong Chik, 59, an accountant, is more well-known in the corporate scene than the political arena, he has taken to his role as Lembah Pantai challenger rather well with a mix of on-the-ground events and social media.

There is the perennial accusation of phantom voters and a suspicion that some 14,000 Umno members have been relocated to Lembah Pantai from bordering seats of course. All this will purportedly bump up the number of votes the BN candidate — whoever it is — will receive of course. 

Nurul Izzah has found it a tough to carry out events and hold ceramahs within her own constituency.

After all, Nurul Izzah only won by a 2,895-vote majority in 2008 against the then-incumbent BN’s Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who won previously with a huge majority of 15,288 votes.

Still, Nurul Izzah, 31, has found it a hard slog trying to carry out events and hold ceramahs within her own constituency. “Yes, it is practically impossible for the current Lembah Pantai MP to use any Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) facilities,” said one of her aides, referring to Kuala Lumpur City Hall. “We are stonewalled.”

Getting permits for her events has been particularly difficult in the Kampung Kerinchi and Pantai Dalam areas. Very often Nurul Izzah has had to cancel ceramahs planned for the People’s Housing Project flats neighbourhood and hold them in private homes, using their compounds, instead.

“Yes, her programmes have been blocked many times. Sometimes directly, others indirectly,” said another aide. “We’ve been told that those who host her programmes — especially those in the low-cost housing area — are often harassed by DBKL or other agencies afterwards.”

The stonewalling takes on various forms: she has been blocked from presenting aid to students at a school in Pantai Dalam; not permitted to distribute dates and her MP newsletter at the Masjid Saidina Abu Bakar As Siddiq in Bangsar during Ramadan (she had to retreat to a nearby carpark) and so on. 

The more affluent middle-class component of Lembah Pantai — Bangsar, Bukit Travers and Pantai Baru — is home to the chattering masses. These are well-educated, highly opinionated Malaysians who used to be content to just chatter and complain. But in the past two years, many of them have walked their talk... attending both Coalition for Free and Fair Election (Bersih) rallies, for example. 

Raja Datuk Nong Chik is expected to be the BN candidate for Lembah Pantai.

At the last Bersih rally, the Orchid Room at Lake Club — that bastion of senior civil servants, lawyers and corporate heads — was filled with yellow T-shirt-wearing members who were having a refreshing drink after a hot and thirsty outing at the rally. 

Many of these people are residents of the previously mentioned Bangsar, Bukit Travers and Pantai Baru areas. 

They will very likely vote for the incumbent but across at the land of low-cost flats and blue-collar workers, the largesse a BN candidate will very likely bring may just be too tempting.  

But Nurul Izzah remains optimistic even though her face-to-face encounters with Raja Nong Chik have been less than cordial. At a recent Hari Raya open house in Bangsar attended by both of them, Raja Nong Chik was overheard referring to her as a “major destroyer.” 

Those funding kindergartens in the area under her initiative have been harassed to stop giving money. PKR volunteers who carried out surveys for her office in Lembah Pantai have been harassed and some even arrested and, of course, there was the very high-profile incident earlier this year when a PKR ceramah was stoned, resulting in some people being injured.

“The latest incident happened past midnight on the day of her open house in Pantai Permai... some 50 thugs came and threatened to take down our tents,” said a PKR volunteer. 

So who will win this election hot seat? “Izzah thinks she may actually get an increased majority if it was a level playing field... but she is still confident despite all the obstacles,” said someone close to the always-cheerful Lembah Pantai MP.

For now, her sheer magnetism and unflagging energy seem to give her just that little bit of an edge — in fact, some people think her being so easy on the eyes is also a plus — but this hot seat is a little too close to call. For now.- malaysian insider

With Shahrizat vanquished, Nong Chik now focuses on 'finishing off' Nurul: At all cost!

Lembah Pantai: Raja Nong Chik lawan Nurul Izzah

Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar sangat yakin bahawa Umno akan menurunkan Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Senator Datuk  Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin akan bertanding di kerusi itu  dalam pilihanraya ke-13.

Keyakinan ini disandarkan kepada beberapa faktor, antaranya penumpuan Raja Nong Chik terhadap Lembah Pantai.

“Daripada penyalahgunaan kuasa dan jawatan selaku Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar untuk meluaskan pengaruh beliau di Lembah Pantai, sementara meminggirkan kawasan lain di Wilayah Persekutuan, Putrajaya dan khususnya Labuan, jelas bahawa Raja Nong Chik berkemungkinan besar bertanding di Lembah Pantai,” kata Nurul yang juga ialah naib presiden PKR.

Nurul berkata demikian ketika diminta meramal kemungkinan Raja Nong Chik merebut kerusi Lembah Pantai di dalam satu temuramah menerusi e-mel.

Beliau menambah bahawa keyakinannya itu diperkukuhkan lagi kerana dihalang dari menggunakan prasarana Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) serta memasuki surau dan masjid seliaan Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (Jawi).

 

Halangan

Beliau mendakwa halangan ini wujud sejak Raja Nong Chik menjadi ketua bahagian Umno Lembah Pantai.

“Semua ini merupakan tindakan maha tidak profesional dan mengecewakan oleh seorang menteri lantikan BN,” kata Nurul.

Nurul menjadi ahli parlimen Lembah Pantai setelah menewaskan Datuk Seri Shahrizat  Abdul Jalil dengan undi majoriti 2895 di dalam pilihan raya umum ke-12 pada tahun 2008.

Dari sudut sokongan beliau mengakui penerimaan warga kota terhadap Pakatan Rakyat.

“Tahap sokongan warga kota sememangnya banyak berpihak kepada para pembangkang, sehingga memungkinkan pemisahan Kuala Lumpur daripada Selangor, dan diletakkan selaku tanah jajahan kerajaan pusat sehinggalah hari ini.

 

Kubu kukuh

“Justeru, tahap keterbukaan warga kota terhadap parti parti pembangkang adalah penting dalam memperkukuh kubu-kubu PR khususnya di kerusi-kerusi seperti Bukit Bintang, Kepong, Seputeh dan juga Cheras.

Ini, jelas beliau, tidak bermakna bahawa Pakatan akan memandang mudah  usaha penyebaran maklumat berkaitan Pakatan.

“Apapun, tahap sokongan ini perlu diperbaiki dengan penyaluran maklumat serta komunikasi yang membantu menjelaskan dasar-dasar Pakatan Rakyat yang berlainan dengan BN – dengan perbandingan manfaat yang diberi kepada warga Selangor, dibanding dengan KL.”

Beliau menambah bahawa penterjemahan suara rakyat menerusi wakil Pakatan memaksa BN memperbaiki tahap perkhidmatan mereka.

“Pembaikan perkhidmatan mereka berlaku ke tahap di mana agenda  kesejahteraan bandar itu diterap di dalam agenda Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan.

 

Mengurangkan rasuah

“Hanya perbezaannya adalah komitmen kita yang mendahulukan keperluan rakyat, dan mengurangkan rasuah.”

Nurul Izzah turut ditanya tahap sokongan pengundi  Kuala Lumpur terhadap Pakatan sedangkan masalah-masalah seperti isu Kampung Baru, kesesakan tidak diselesaikan oleh wakil rakyat Pakatan.

“Hakikatnya, rakyat sedar akan kontradiksi yang wujud dengan kuasa yang masih berpusat di dalam tangan BN walhal sepuluh daripada sebelas kerusi KL jatuh ke tangan Pakatan.

“Kampung Baru, kesesakan, dan DBKL yang jumud dilihat sebagai peninggalan atau khazanah BN yang hanya mungkin dapat diperhalusi dan diperbaiki dengan penukaran kerajaan pusat daripada yang sedia ada kepada Pakatan.- FMT

 cheers.