Sunday is polling day for Kajang state seat and pressure is building up for candidates on both sides of the political divide to reach their targets.
For Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail is a majority of more than 6,824 votes while for Barisan Nasional (BN) Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun is a simple win or at the very least reduce Wan Azizah’s majority.
The by-election was forced by PKR supremo Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the purported claim to end the dispute between the party deputy president Azmin Ali and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim but the objective changed just before nomination day to Anwar heading for the Mentri Besar seat.
However, when he was convicted and sentenced to five years jail which disqualified him from contesting the created by-election, he got his wife Wan Azizah to stand in.
The going is not easy for both candidates as both are faced with ‘unfriendly’ environment where the electorate seem fed-up and tired of politics given that they are trying to make themselves comfortable with water rationing, traffic jams and garbage not disposed as promised and many more.
Eight days have passed and the 39,278 voters are still ‘slippery’ and ‘unpredictable’ which worry Wan Azizah, not so much for Chew as she goes as an underdog, contesting to gauge the support for her party – the MCA.
Claims made by PKR deputy director of operations Zuraidah Kamaruddin at her daily press conference that the party had managed to gain the support of 45 percent Malay voters was just a ‘psy-war’ to entice others.
Issues raised by PKR kept changing for the last eight days but the posters – displayed big and clearly visible – is still From Kajang To Putrajaya, while the BN is still with development for all.
The reality, after talking to campaigners on the ground from both sides of the political divide was that none has got any inkling of their support except to base it on last year’s general election.
They said the voters have not given any serious thoughts on the by-election due to the aircraft MH307 incident where everybody was glued to the TVs for latest information, forgetting or overlook the weary and tired candidates and their campaigners combing the streets and houses every day and night.
Reality hurts and in this case it burns the heart – the forced by-election is not a small matter where voters are glad to participate – they also know how to ‘play the game’.
Wan Azizah’s campaign trail the last eight says reflected her desperation to win big – started at 8am right up to 12 midnight – non-stop meeting the voters at every place where voters convene or places where the local party members arranged.
Chew on the other hand went on organized meetings and events, not as many a day compared to campaign like Wan Azizah.
Whatever ways the candidates and their campaigners have planned, the final say will be with the voters and only on Sunday the voters will reveal what are in their minds, where the victory is expected to be for Wan Azizah but the question is what will the majority be like.
