SHAH ALAM, Aug 10 — The heat of the election campaign in Selangor is getting hotter, especially in state constituencies where political heavyweights are contesting.
The state legislative assembly has 56 seats, which means contesting political parties have to win at least 29 seats to form a state government with a simple majority, and with hardly two days left before polling, all 127 candidates are now making a final push to garner as much support as possible before the campaign period ends at 11.59 pm this Friday.
With the tempo of the campaign becoming more aggressive and intense through various programmes and activities, carried out face-to-face and through social media, the focus now is on who will be the Selangor Menteri Besar (MB).
Until now, only the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) alliance has named its MB candidate, who is State PH chairman Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Its erstwhile rival Perikatan Nasional (PN), comprising PAS, Bersatu and Gerakan, is not yet decided on its Menteri Besar candidate, although an early announcement is considered important and strategic to assure the 3,747,057 registered elections Selangor of its capability to fulfil the pledges in its election manifesto.
However, PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, on March 12, said the Menteri Besar candidate for Selangor and Negeri Sembilan would be from Bersatu if the coalition wins, and taking into account the period of the announcement until the dissolution of the respective state assemblies on June 23, PNshould have been the first one to name its Menteri Besar candidate.
PN may have its reasons and strategy for not doing so, but the action is making the electors wonder who the real candidate is, especially with speculations of a few names, like former Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and the incumbent Sijangkang Assemblyman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, to fill the hot seat.
The question is, Is it important for the contesting parties to make an early announcement of their respective Menteri Besar candidate?
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Department of Communications senior lecturer Dr Norliana Hashim opined that it could further motivate the individuals concerned menteri besar candidates to work harder to ensure victory for their respective party, as well as expose them to the social aspects of the community.
It can also help electors to make smarter decisions on polling day,” she added.
She said the action of some parties in not naming their Menteri Besar candidate early may be due to their lack of confidence that the named candidate could win the seat they are contesting based on political analysis, popularity and party support.
An elector in the Pandan Indah constituency, Anis Azman, 37, said the action by Harapan-BN in making an early announcement of its Menteri Besar candidate reflected the confidence and unity of its alliance.
“It also gives the electors more confidence to choose a candidate from the party,” he said, adding that in the context of Selangor, the action taken by Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in announcing Amirudin as the Menteri Besar candidate reflected the unity and consensus between Harapan and BN with BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi welcoming the announcement by Anwar.
He said the early announcement would also give electors more time to assess the credibility of the candidates concerned.
“In terms of the party work, it is able to inject more confidence into the machinery of the parties representing the candidates concerned to carry out their campaign.”
Trader Siti Suhaila Othman, 55, said an early announcement of the Menteri Besar candidate is important as it could also help electors to decide on the party they would vote for on polling day.
“I like Harapan-BN’s way, it seems more transparent compared with that of its rival, which is in a tug-of-war to decide its MB candidate.
“Instead of making electors wonder, it is better for contesting parties to just announce their respective Menteri Besar candidates,” said the woman who is a registered elector in Sekinchan.
So far, in Selangor, only the Harapan-BN alliance has decided on its MB candidate, while Mohamed Azmin, who is Selangor PN chairman, said the coalition had reached a consensus on the candidate, but will not name the candidate concerned.
— Bernama
