Wan Azizah ADUN Kajang...

Kena Satay Kajang

'Kajang move': Back to square one for PKR

In January, PKR took the country by surprise by forcing Kajang state assemblyperson Lee Chin Cheh to resign to make way for party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's entry as a Selangor lawmaker.

 

This was dubbed the "Kajang move" by PKR, described to be a "game changer" that would catapult the party towards Putrajaya and present options for the state administration if there needs to be a change in leadership.

 

But no amount of sugar coating could hide the fact that the "Kajang move" was part of an elaborate plan to replace Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as menteri besar and put an end to his tiff with PKR vice-president Azmin Ali.

 

Khalid's no-nonsense image and technocrat style had endeared voters but earned him scorn from state assemblypersons from all three Pakatan Rakyat parties who wants him to loosen the state's purse strings.

 

The state assemblypersons, particularly Azmin, believe that Khalid can boast about increasing the state's reserves but this feat is of no practical use if it is not spent for public good.

 

Instead of giving in, Khalid increased the state assemblyperson and state cabinet members salary by 87 percent and 231 percent respectively, sparking protest from Pakatan over the lack of consultation.

 

Then came Lee's shock resignation and PKR's announcement of Anwar's candidacy. The move sparked public outcry on grounds that this was an abuse of democracy and that the by-election is a waste of public funds.

 

Khalid not going anywhere

 

For PKR, the merits of the "Kajang move" - allowing a person agreed by all three Pakatan components to replace Khalid - was worth the risk of voter backlash.

 

But just five days before Anwar was to file his nomination forms, he was disqualified from running after being convicted for sodomising his former aide, forcing the party to nominate his wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail instead.

 

In other words, the meticulously planned "Kajang move" had to be prematurely terminated. 

 

Immediately, PKR dropped the term altogether and transformed its campaign strategy by labling the by-election as a referendum on Anwar's conviction instead.

 

A cursory look at the results of the by-election reveal that voter sentiment remains at status quo, with both PKR and BN increasing their share of the votes in terms of percentage, because the Kajang contest during the general election had four independent candidates.

 

Did the "Kajang move" fail to move anything at all? Can PKR call this a referendum on the sodomy conviction? 

 

These questions might be answered as details from polling stations are made available. But for now, Khalid is one person who has every reason to smile, as all threats to his position as menteri besar have been virtually nullified.

 

It would be naive for PKR to suggest that Wan Azizah, a first-time Selangor lawmaker, had the necessary credentials to run a state, nor has she shown any ambition to do so.

 

Did 'C4C' work?

 

Overall, the campaign had been mostly subdued, partly because of early campaigning by PKR well ahead of the nomination and the fact that public attention is on the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

 

Several BN and Pakatan leaders cross-swords a few times but Wan Azizah and her opponent Chew Mei Fun, the MCA vice-president, did not even trade barbs.

 

MCA did appear to have improved on their campaigning methods, ditching their usual anti-Islamic state tirade and focusing more on the usual BN promises of development and the coalition's proven track record.

 

However, the underlying "C4C" or "Chinese for Chinese" messages which appeared around the constituency, coupled with the fact that MCA campaigners use messages with racial undertones on polling day, underscores the party's inability move away from the race card.

 

Eventually, MCA claimed that it had managed to bag 25 percent of the Chinese vote in Kajang, up 7 percent from the last contest. This may be a consolation prize for MCA, but a snub at BN's 1Malaysia policy, given the strategies involved.

 

As for PKR, the party is claiming that it had made some inroads in Malay areas. Are the claims made by both PKR and MCA an indication that there are some voters who vote along racial lines? Probably so.

 

During the 13th general election, the BN and PKR candidates for Kajang were Chinese. A Malay candidate from Berjasa, surprisingly drew 1,024 votes.

 

The small gains made by both parties, however, seem hardly significant when viewed overall, since the share of votes received by both parties appear are virtually at status quo.- malaysiakini

PKR’s smaller win in Kajang gives MCA moral victory

LAPORAN LANGSUNG & LIVE

Jangan 'over confident', keluar mengundi beramai-ramai...

Pengundi N25 Kajang jangan terlalu yakin dengan ramalan awal berkaitan kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat membuatkan mereka tidak keluar mengundi esok.

Timbalan Ketua Muslimat PAS Pusat, Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud teruja dengan sambutan pengundi Kajang terhadap calon, PKR Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yang amat memberangsangkan.

"Jadi kita rasa calon kita menang tapi kita kena ingat jangan 'over confident' sehingga kita tidak keluar mengundi.

"Masing-masing kalau dah kata kita menang jadi tak payahlah keluar mengundi. Jangan tak keluar mengundi. Saya minta semua mesti keluar mengundi," katanya dalam sidang media di Bilik Gerakan Utama PKR petang tadi.

Bagaimanapun beliau menyeru agar para pengundi N25 Kajang keluar mengundi awal pagi esok kerana dijangkan hujan di sebelah petang.

Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) menjangka lebih 80 peratus daripada 38,055 pemilih berdaftar di kawasan Dewan Undangan Negeri (Dun) Kajang akan keluar mengundi esok.
   
Setiausaha SPR Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh berkata jangkaan berdasarkan trend pengundian dan peratusan keluar mengundi di Dun itu pada pilihan raya lepas.

Esok adalah hari penentu bagi kedua-dua calon PKR Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail dan calon BN Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun untuk dipilih menjadi menjadi wakil rakyat Kajang yang baru.- harakahdaily

On Political Platforms in the Kajang by-Election. Manifesto vs MONEYfesto...

Last night, I attended the launching of Reformasi 2 at Kajang stadium. The stadium was filled to the brim. It was a huge crowd. As usual this morning, after waking up with arithmetitis, mainstream media will downplay the size of the huge crowd. Maybe 232 attnded. 

There were so many speakers. So we end up mostly making rallying calls. The political platform has been explained widely throughout  the campaign period. That Wan Azizah shall go on to win this by-election is just a formality. The question is how big will her majority be.

How big will depend on the voter turnout. I believe the voter turnout will not be as large as it was during the general election last May 2013. Be that as it may, Wan Azizah’s majority will be bigger than that one obtained by CC Lee.

The non-Malays will come out in big numbers to vote Wan Azizah. They are motivated by one reason only. The UMNO people can challenge them to explain their conduct and ask once again what do the Chinese want- that will be an irrelevant question. The question will be simply ignored. 

The basic desire and motivation is just to see BN get its butt kicked. They don’t like BN and its a subjective choice. Nothing much to explain.

Malays on the other hand  complicate their own decision making and will be motivated by multiple considerations. They face a tougher decision but their difficulty is caused by mixed emotions. The Malays who did not vote Pakatan the last time because they didn’t want to vote a CC Lee will  come out to vote this time. They will vote Wan Azizah.

That will only reduce the votes which could have gone to Miss CM Fun. its the UMNO Malays who will stay back. It’s not because they are disloyal to UMNO, but because they have been conditioned into thinking in terms of Malayness- so they will not come out to vote for Miss CM Fun. The will stay loyal to UMNO but they will not vote for Miss Fun. how is CC Lee different from Chew Mei Fun? 

Can Miss CM Fun read the customary Al Fatihah when visiting a deceased relative? Wan Azizah at least can.

So Wan Azizah will enjoy a larger sweep of Malay votes this time. Miss Fun will suffer because the UMNO Malays stay back and if they come out this Sunday, some of them will vote for Wan Azizah.

Now let’s distil the issues in this Kajang election.

Mahathir and Daim is not the platform. What is Pakatan’s platform? Now a platform is the public pronouncements of what the party intends to do economically and politically. it’s an articulation of their views on the various issues in the country- social and economics issues, its views on the country’s management, its attitude to the ruling government, and more important generally, it represents its commitment to bring about the desired changes that it thinks are of benefit to the country.

So, the Pakatan platform isn’t about being obsessed with Daim Zainudin or Dr Mahathir. One important element of the platform is an attack against corruption and cronyism that is practised by UMNO. I have attended 2 ceramahs with Anwar Ibrahim who mentioned the names of the two retirees.  As to Dr Mahathir, who can say he has ever retired?

I would not conclude by the mention of the two names, that Anwar is obsessed with the two. But the names of the two were used for dramatic effects to accentuate the issue of corruption and cronyism.  And it worked because it drove the crowds into a frenzy. Daim Zainudin and Mahathir’s name are marketable.

As to the frequency by which Anwar mentioned the two names- I am told in his other ceramahs he also mention the two names- we can’t blame Anwar if he believes the two played a significant role for the condition that he has faced and is facing.

I am not going to rush in and proclaim Anwar is a saint but in UMNO where everyone is tainted with something and everything, and certainly moral deficiencies being one of them, the vehemence, venom and vindictiveness which UMNO leaders meted out to Anwar by legal and extra legal means- are almost inhuman. Anwar’s obsession with the two is excusable.

The two are considered as the principal architects with Dr M being the chief architect.  As to Anwar’s obsession with Daim, I think it’s more personal.

I have had the opportunity to sit in with Daim on a number of occasions and I must openly admit that needling Anwar was rare other than making bawdy jokes about Anwar. Maybe they have some private politics between them, I don’t know.

The platform PKR in particular offers to the people of Kajang is therefore made up of issues such as corruption and cronyism, the mismanagement of the economy, the lack of direction by which the nation is travelling, the weakness of the government in tackling community issues, the ineptness of the government in handling crime, the rising cost of living, the arrogance of those in power and of course the injustice inflicted on Anwar and his family.

The people of Kajang ought to carry the anger which they associate with the BN government to the ballot boxes this 23rd March 2014. They should vote with their heads but don’t disallow the human emotions. Lets deal another death blow to BN and prove that Miss CM Fun is just a pawn whom Muhyidin finds attractive. - Sakmongkol AK47

Amanat Terakhir untuk pengundi DUN Kajang

cheers.