As of noon on eve of Cameron Highlands by-election, Barisan Nasional has the upper hand and will win the by-election unless a miracle happens tomorrow with an unexpected influx of outstation voters defying normal trends to save the seat for Pakatan Harapan
No political analyst or polling group predicts Pakatan Harapan victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election tomorrow.
In fact, as of noon on eve of Cameron Highlands by-election, Barisan Nasional has the upper hand and will win the by-election unless a miracle happens tomorrow with an unexpected influx of outstation voters defying normal trends to save the seat for Pakatan Harapan.
The expected victory for Barisan Nasional in the by-election is also the reason why Najib had chosen Cameron Highlands by-election as the launching-pad for his “Save Najib” campaign to plan a political comeback and return to Putrajaya as Prime Minister, and not in the three previous three Selangor State Assemby and the Port Dickson parliamentary by-elections.
Without an unexpected influx of the some 5,000-odd outstation voters of Cameron Highlands to undo the Barisan Nasional advantage in Cameron Highlands, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is sailing to victory in his selection of Cameron Highlands to launch his “Save Najib” campaign for a political comeback and return to Putrajaya as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
It is now clear that Najib is not only the campaigner-in-chief in the Cameron Highlands by-election, he was the one who decided that MIC should relinquish its traditional seat in Cameron Highlands, who selected Ramli Mohd Nor as tne BN candidate, and roped in PAS President, Hadi Awang, to secure PAS support in the by-election so that it would be worth his while to make the greatest gamble in his life – to use the Cameron Highlands by-election as a launching-pad for his “Save Najib” campaign for a political comeback and return to Putrajaya as Prime Minister of Malaysia in the 15th General Election by 2023.
Undoubtedly, if Barisan Nasional loses in Cameron Highlands, which was so impregnable that when the Najib government fell in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, Cameron Highlands still did not fall into Pakatan Harapan hands, then all hopes and possibilities of a Najib political comeback will be crushed into smithereens, and he can say a final goodbye to Malaysian politics.
It is now in the hands of the outstation voters whether Najib can use the Cameron Highlands by-election to launch off his “Save Najib” campaign for a political comeback and return to Putrajaya as Prime Minister of Malaysia in the 15th General Election by 2023.
The 14-day Cameron Highlands by-election had been marred by the vicious and toxic politics of lies, fear, hate, race and religion perpetrated by both UMNO and PAS.
The tragic death of the firefighter hero, Mohd Adib was exploited by both UMNO and PAS to target the Pakatan Harapan candidate. M. Manogaran, with flyers distributed with the title "DAP Hindu/Hindraf bunuh Adib" (DAP Hindu/Hindraf killed Adib) virtually accusing Manogaran as a murderer.
I was accused in a WhatApps allegation which contained downright lies and falsehoods, with the WhatsApp message stating: “Lim Kit Siang mengusulkan didlm Dewan Rakyat supaya perkataan Islam Dan Melayu digugurkan dlm Perlembagaan”. In actual fact, in my 45 years in the Dewan Rakyat since 1969, I had never submitted such a motion.
The latest attack on me in Jelai, Cameron Highlands by-election was that I had alleged that the Orang Asli are not citizens of Malaysia, when I had in fact acknowledged that the Orang Asli are the first inhabitants in the country but asked how they could be regarded as full citizens of the country when the Orang Asli are denied the most basic infrastructures whether proper access road, clean water, electricity; deprived of the most elementary needs whether education, health and medical care, housing and economic opportunities; and most important of all, denied of their traditional land rights!
The latest attack of baseless falsehoods against Manogaran alleged that he had paid Orang Asli witnesses in the election appeal which resulted in the Election Judge declaring the election of MIC National Vice President C. Sivarraggh as Cameron Highlands MP last May as “null and void”, requiring a by-election to be held.
Manogaran has instantly these lies and falsehoods. In fact, other Orang Asli witnesses who were to testify in the election appeal last year about vote-buying and money politics were spirited away by some Tok Batins to Golok to enjoy a free holiday trip.
A BN victory will be a blow to the New Malaysia objective to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity, for Najib will then be able to crow that he and his policies have the support of Malaysians – including the 1MDB scandal and a host of other kleptocracy and abuses of power which affect Felda, Felcra, Tabung Haji and MARA.
Be that as it may, Malaysians throughout the country will await the outcome of Cameron Highlands by-election to see whether Najib could now launch his “Save Najib” campaign to make a political comeback and return to Putrajaya as Prime Minister in the 15thGeneral Election by 2023.