Speech by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at Bukit Paggar, Tapah on Saturday, August 6, 2011 Najib should walk the talk and tell Malaysians what electoral reforms will the government bring about before the next general election. Six months before the 2008 general election, it was evident that there was the general mood for political change that was favorable to the Opposition. But despite our optimism of a better performance, we were not really sure how well could the Opposition perform. The political tsunami which took place and caused the BN to suffer its worse electoral debacle was therefore an unexpected shock for the Opposition as well as the BN leaders. The result simply showed what people power could do. People power made BN lose its traditional two thirds parliamentary majority and power in 5 states. With present speculation going on that the next general election may be held anytime after Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebration, the political question that is being asked by many Malaysians is whether there could be a greater political tsunami that will bring about a new federal government. I dare say that the chances of the Opposition taking over Putrajaya are there. It is certainly not a pipe dream. In fact, I believe that the recent internet portal reports that there have been loss of confidence in the prime minister's leadership within Umno is due to dry run results indicating the existence of favorable political mood towards the Opposition. Recently, a report in the internet portal " The Malaysian Insider" revealed that BN could lose Perak and Negri Sembilan in the next general elections, according to results of a recent dry run, unless component parties put popular faces and ensure the grassroots machinery garner support from voters. The report too says that Opposition will make gains in BN traditional fortress state of Johor. Undoubtedly, UMNO leaders have begun to have daily political nightmare and some have even begun to think of changing the ship.captain They saw how the then prevalent mood of change among voters during the 2008 general election campaigning period translated into a political tsunami against BN. They also saw how once campaigning period started in the recent Sarawak state election, massive crowds turned up every night at DAP ceramahs. Though they will not publicly admit, the greatest fear that is gripping the BN leaders is that they now cannot say with certainty that Putrajaya will not fall at the next general election. Previously, BN leaders would never ask who would be the Prime Minister if Opposition becomes the federal government, but MCA leaders have over the last few months been asking Pakatan Rakyat this question. This shows that BN does actually think that they can lose federal power. However, we must bear in mind that the next election is not going to be an easy battle for PR. In fact, the next general election is going to be the dirtiest in the nation's electoral history. There will be politics of money, threat, blackmails lies and falsehoods. Spectre of May 13 may be raised. There could even be electoral fraud. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has revealed that Penang state saw a sudden surge of 32000 voters in just 3 months and a staggering 1,400 postal votes were inserted into Batu Maung state constituency, currently held by state Exco member Abdul Malik Kassim from PKR. The Election Commission must explain such strange surge of voter numbers. Last month, the prime minister Dato Sri Najib said that government was all for fair elections. Talk is cheap. Najib should walk the talk and tell Malaysians what electoral reforms will the government bring about before the next general election. |
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