I find the above headline in China Press very interesting and somehow reflective of the results from the just concluded three by-elections. BN retained Batang Ai, thus they have won a river, as Batang means a river. And they have lost in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau, Bukit means hill or mountain, thus two mountains gone. It was the status quo anyway; the respective parties retained the seats formerly held by them. However, the magnitude of a river vesus two mountains should not be overlooked. Obviously, the people in Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang didn’t bother about the so-called “feel good factors” as mentioned by Muhiddin Yasin who was the chief-de-mission for the Barisan Nasional by-election machinery. Not even the once highly respected former Prime Minister who played so many tricks to oust Pak Lah, can salvage BN in Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang.
If you follow TV1 live telecast on the by-elections, you will see how the government makes use of their resources particularly their control on television to play up the racial sentiments. The guest speakers said that Chinese voters in Bukit Gantang were largely influenced by the sentiments cooked up by the opposition, the defunct-Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak. They said Nizar was betrayal to the Sultan of Perak and didn’t deserve to represent the people in Bukit Gantang. These political analysts are not genuine political analyst, they take too much side and could not give any neutral views to the people. But what important is that the people in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau are wise enough to make their own decisions irrespective of the sentiments cooked up by Barisan Nasional. The people in Bukit Gantang have indicated that they didn’t agree with the dirty tricks played by the former-opposition to topple the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government.
The race ethnicity in Bukit Gantang closely represents the racial composition in Malaysia where 64% is Malay, 27% Chinese and 9% Indian. It was estimated that 70% of Chinese voted for Nizar, a 5% more as compared to the 2008 general election. At the same time, Nizar is also getting more support from the Malay and Indian leading a higher majority as compared to the previous election. Barisan Nasional is still in denial of the rejection of the majority of people to their government especially in Bukit Gantang. They try to play down the losses suffered by them in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau. Many political analysts opined that the outcome of the by-elections should not be viewed as the referendum to the leadership of Najib as he just took over not even a month. Fair enough, but it certainly indicates increased acceptance of the people on the new alliance of PAS-DAP-PKR as a probable alternative to replace Barisan Nasional.
If you follow TV1 live telecast on the by-elections, you will see how the government makes use of their resources particularly their control on television to play up the racial sentiments. The guest speakers said that Chinese voters in Bukit Gantang were largely influenced by the sentiments cooked up by the opposition, the defunct-Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak. They said Nizar was betrayal to the Sultan of Perak and didn’t deserve to represent the people in Bukit Gantang. These political analysts are not genuine political analyst, they take too much side and could not give any neutral views to the people. But what important is that the people in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau are wise enough to make their own decisions irrespective of the sentiments cooked up by Barisan Nasional. The people in Bukit Gantang have indicated that they didn’t agree with the dirty tricks played by the former-opposition to topple the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government.
The race ethnicity in Bukit Gantang closely represents the racial composition in Malaysia where 64% is Malay, 27% Chinese and 9% Indian. It was estimated that 70% of Chinese voted for Nizar, a 5% more as compared to the 2008 general election. At the same time, Nizar is also getting more support from the Malay and Indian leading a higher majority as compared to the previous election. Barisan Nasional is still in denial of the rejection of the majority of people to their government especially in Bukit Gantang. They try to play down the losses suffered by them in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau. Many political analysts opined that the outcome of the by-elections should not be viewed as the referendum to the leadership of Najib as he just took over not even a month. Fair enough, but it certainly indicates increased acceptance of the people on the new alliance of PAS-DAP-PKR as a probable alternative to replace Barisan Nasional.
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