Athi Shankar
Free Malaysia Today
August 8, 2011
GEORGE TOWN: Confidence is running high in Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) camp nowadays.
If the intelligence reports are anything to go by, BN should win enough state seats in the next general election to wrest the Penang government from Pakatan Rakyat.
It is learnt that the intelligence reports have identified at least 25 constituencies as winnable seats for BN – 15 on the mainland and 10 on the island.
The mainland seats are Bagan Dalam (Bagan); Berapit and Machang Bubok (Bukit Mertajam); Bertam, Penaga and Pinang Tunggal (Kepala Batas); Teluk Air Tawar, Permatang Berangan and Sungai Dua (Tasek Gelugor); Penanti, Permatang Pasir and Seberang Jaya (Permatang Pauh); and Jawi, Sungai Bakap and Sungai Acheh (Nibong Tebal).
On the island, the targeted seats are Sungai Pinang and Datuk Keramat (Jelutong); Seri Delima and Air Itam (Bukit Gelugor); Batu Uban, Pantai Jerejak and Batu Maung (Bayan Baru); and Bayan Lepas, Pulau Betong and Teluk Bahang (Balik Pulau).
BN is also confident of winning Kepala Batas, Tasek Gelugor, Batu Kawan, Nibong Tebal, Balik Pulau and Bayan Baru parliament seats.
In the 2008 general election, BN won 11 out of the 40 states and two out of 13 federal seats, all through Umno. Gerakan, MCA and MIC were all whitewashed.
However, BN leaders are confident that the political tsunami of 2008 would not be repeated this time.
Strategically, the state BN leaders are now conducting group tours on Mondays in earmarked constituencies to meet and be friendly with the people.
“We are going to the ground to listen to views and address issues hands-on.
“People have been responsive,” said a BN official.
Regaining lost ground
So far BN leaders have visited Nibong Tebal, Bukit Mertajam and Kepala Batas on the mainland, and Jelutong and Bukit Gelugor constituencies on the island.
Today, they visited PKR stronghold Permatang Pauh, whose MP is Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The weekly constituency visits going on for more than a month now have boosted the coalition confidence that it was on its way to regaining lost ground.
BN leaders are confident of winning these seats due to perceived shift in ethnic Malay and Indian voters from Pakatan to them.
They believe that the undercurrent sentiments were favouring BN.
A BN top state leader said the working-class Malays and Indians feel that they were shortchanged under Pakatan.
BN also believes that the ethnic Chinese, although overwhelmingly favouring Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration, would vote in one or two non-Umno representatives in the next round.
“It could finish on a 21-19 seat-score, either way. This would result in horse-trading to get a stronger majority.
“In such a scenario, BN will eventually prevail,” said a confident BN local politician.
Yesterday, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh, however, said he believed that Penangites would overwhelmingly give their mandate to return Pakatan as the state government for another term.
He dismissed BN prediction that it could win 25 state seats.
“I differ with the intelligence findings. The undercurrent sentiments are very much in favour of Pakatan and the chief minister,” said Karpal.
#1 by yhsiew on Monday, 8 August 2011 - 8:16 pm
25 winnable seats or 25 “cheat-able” seats?? Pakatan must keep alert – GE13 is going to be dirtiest election ever.
#2 by mauriyaII on Monday, 8 August 2011 - 8:33 pm
What the intelligence gathering machanism of the Barisan Neraka alludes to is the MCA towkays have the money to buy Chinese votes and the Indians favouring the BN is hogwash. The Indians are the well looked after MIC mandores and of course the pseudo Indians are the Mamaks, the trouble makers in Penang. The Penang Mamaks can root for UMNO but they will never be accepted as Malays by UMNO. The days when a Mamak could become a Malay and go on to be the PM are over.
#3 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Monday, 8 August 2011 - 9:11 pm
DAP has to warn Penangites that with all the con-jobs, phantom-ghosts, illegal-immigrants-turned-citizens-in-the-blink-of-an-eye, no stone must be left unturned if Pakatan Rayat wants to keep Penang.
LOOK, nobody is going to be able to change the electoral rolls or law in the next 2 months. So, the only way for PR o win Penang for sure is if all Penang voters come out in full force and overwhelm Penang. This way even if they have 100, 000 ghosts, Penang will still be PR territory.
I only fear if they have whole battalions or leagues of ghosts from all across the universe – millions of them in the country exceeding the country’s population of 27+ million.
#4 by monsterball on Monday, 8 August 2011 - 10:10 pm
Let them talk as much as they like.
They are hoping pro PR voters accusing them having thousands of Phantom votes like what the journalist..Susan Loone did in her report…than accused the said pro PR supporters keep churning out rumors…and therefore…the many facts are buried as rumors too.
Najib have said he has 72% supports months ago….yet he dare not declare 13th GE.
What is he waiting for?….99% support?
Now that their smart guys said Selangor and Penang will go back to BN..why delay 13th GE?
I guess those guys need to get rid of Najib first and hope for the best.
US economy down….bringing all down..while we are naturally down due to massive corruptions.
Down and down..all bad news….yet they talk… win this ..win that.
When people are suffering…people want changes more and more.
#5 by seah_thomas on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 12:08 am
Penang is doing pretty well now.
We must never allow them to Sapu the
” cheatable ” seats, at all cost.
PR must look after our turf cautiously less the Cheats appear and execute a curi curi 1Msia.
They are giving clear hint of hiting below the belt.
We must be prepared and go all the way forward
There is eally no turning back
#6 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 1:24 am
Voters had given Umno/Alliance/BN >50 years 2 rule Malaya/Malaysia
What has dis nation bcome under d rule of Umno Malays? Fr bad 2 worse, n getting worse
Fr S$1 = RM1 2 S$1 = RM2.45
Time 2 get rid of UmnoB/BN unless ppl wish 2 b eternally sodomised by UmnoB/BN
#7 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 9:51 am
Penang voters must REJECT d BRILLIANT Tasek Gelugor MP NMY 4 his infamous last words: “D European financial crisis n United States economic slowdown WILL NOT affect d country’s economy”
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/7/nation/9255337&sec=nation
His brilliant declaration is followed by this headline d day after: Bursa bleeds another RM31b in global carnage (n for his information, d bleeding has just begun; wakarimasu ka?)
#8 by Bigjoe on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 10:00 am
I think they mean ‘cheating report’…Does not sound very intelligent otherwise..
#9 by Comrade on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 10:16 am
The signs and symptoms are all there
Of an electoral system that is unfair
Umno/BN & agents are electoral cheats
Should be called their ’25 cheatable seats’
Counting the chickens before they are hatched
PR’s good performance they have not matched
BN’s poor governance is lesson learned
Penang State PR’s govt must be returned
#10 by dagen on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 11:46 am
25 winnable constituencies? I doubt so. Penang will be dap for a long time to come – well until dap mess up the state big time in future (something which no one can guarantee would not happen). The point is for now, dap under guan eng is doing a great job. Penang will stay with opposition.
But this does not stop umno from playing dirty. Umno’s reaction to the bersih 2.0 movement is a clear expression by umno of its desire to sink all the way to the bottom of the sewer tank in order to win. Now this is courting danger.
Umno is lucky only because malaysians in general are still law abiding and still want to rely on the constitutional process of removing umno from putra jaya. But really umno should not push its luck too far. A middle-east / north africa type of reaction is not beyond imagination.
In my view umno is only pumping up a psychological game of confidence – plucked from sun tzu’s “art of war”, I am sure. The strategy here is two fold. One and obviously, to shaken the opponents. Two, to whip up and shore up the fighting spirits of supporters.
#11 by monsterball on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 11:56 am
The last count…..530,000 immigrants given citizenship of which many are ghost riders…no such person…and even a person by the name of a village is approved.
EC keep passing the buck and refuse to correct such glaring mistakes….trying so hard to convince Malaysians how truthful they are.
BERSH Chief Ambiga have been very patient to listen to the heap of excuses.
It is clear…EC will not lift a finger to correct things planted by crooked leaders for crooked GE results for decades.
It appears….before 13th GE…planting phantoms workers have intensified.
No wonder ……Anwar said PR needs at least 75% voters to support change of government to win now.
Previously .it was a swing of 5% enough.
Now it needs a swing of 15% or more.
#12 by dagen on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 2:08 pm
Monsterball, actually worse than that. EC would not even act when told of the fact that people on the rolls are no longer there like say dead. EC insist that family members must come forward to report his death. Then what about phantom voters. These people obviously would have no family members around. Would the EC insist that the real ghost of such voters show up to prove their non-existence?
#13 by monsterball on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 5:20 pm
So it is…dagen.
So it is.
Now Selangor is being predicted to add from 75 seats they won from 12th GE.. to at lease 100 seats win by PR…in 13th GE.
And Ibrahim Ali is predicted to loose his seat….if he stands for election.
Lets see whose prediction is right.
BN said they will capture Penang and Selangor back easily..with so many thousands of voters supporting them now.
#14 by rockdaboat on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 6:44 pm
Ha ha ha ha ha
Ka Ki Kong, Ka Ki Song (Hokkien)
#15 by monsterball on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 - 7:28 pm
Sonkalingam song……tau ..pian …chwen…sak…bor kia…bor tai chi.
kia…kui….kia nan.
Chimai…kia che karku. {broken Hokkien writen by a Hylam}