Sunday, April 25, 2010
KUALA KUBU BHARU: Barisan Nasional (BN) won the closely-fought Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat on Sunday, April 25, by a 1,725-vote majority, giving the coalition a psychological boost in its bid to recapture the Selangor state government.
The BN’s triumph in a mixed constituency will be seen as an endorsement of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept and is expected to strengthen his approval ratings, muting the effects of the opposition’s steady attacks on his credibility and administrative policies.
The straight fight for the seat, which has 64,500 registered voters, saw BN’s P Kamalanathan polling 24,997 votes against PKR Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who mustered 23,272 votes. The results were announced by returning officer Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan at about 9.10pm. There were 731 spoilt votes and voter turnout stood at 75.87% or 48,935 voters.
The three state seats of Kuala Kubu Bharu, Hulu Bernam and Batang Kali under the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency are held by an MCA representative and two from Umno, putting it firmly under BN’s control. Kamalanathan’s victory has increased the number of MPs from the largest Indian-based party to four representatives.
The BN campaign had used the issue of Zaid’s alcohol consumption in his youth to score points with the Muslim majority voters, mounted a strong campaign for “more inclusive” politics and pledged continued development in the constituency, banking on its record of national development.
Aided by the top leaders of BN component parties who campaigned continuously for eight days, the coalition’s tested formula of stressing on welfare, stability, land allocation and promises to redevelop abandoned townships paid off. It has also appointed a federal representative to ensure that all its pledges in the by-election will be fulfilled.
Despite facing criticisms on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, allegations of corruption, controversial links with comunications consultancy Apco Worldwide and issues related to military procurement, BN remained unscathed. It managed to ride on its candidate’s “local boy” tag and his ability to mingle with the masses.
PKR’s strategy of fielding a high profile candidate could not swing enough votes at the final count. The party needs to take stock of its acceptability by voters as the by-election was held with the backdrop of defections from among its elected representatives and divisional leaders.
The fence-sitters seemed uninterested in the opposition’s line of attack, including its questioning of the authenticity of Kamalanathan’s communications degree, his perceived subservience to Umno and the query about his name in the electoral roll of the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat.
Najib told a press conference that BN’s “hard-fought win” was meaningful because BN was able to recapture the seat in the PR-led state.
“With this win... we must fulfil not just the promises we made but the people’s expectations and hopes in all respects,” he said.
“With this victory, voters have rejected the way the opposition plays politics by spreading lies. Voters cannot accept it. They can judge what is true,” Najib said.
Asked about the Chinese votes, which went mostly to PKR, Najib said BN would analyse their strong support for PKR. He believed that there was some change in their support between the start of campaigning until April 25.
To another question, Najib said it was “too early” to tell if the Hulu Selangor victory was an endorsement of his reforms but he called it “a good beginning” for the ruling coalition.
“This means we are on the right track... They’re happy with the announcements, with the thinking and policy direction but now we must make sure we provide the results,” Najib said after the results were announced.
Kamalanathan said he was “touched” by his victory but said he would have to work harder to win over all voters and not just the Chinese votes that had gone to PKR.
“This victory is not mine, this victory belongs to the Barisan Nasional machinery,” Kamalanathan told a press conference. He said that he would soon move from Rawang to Hulu Selangor, as he promised during campaigning.
MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu said an estimated 68% to 72% of Indian voters had returned to MIC and BN this time.
“We explain to them and show how important it is to be with BN to guarantee their future... We start with the new MIC that is closer to the rakyat,” Samy Vellu said, when asked about MIC’s chances in the next general election.
The BN’s triumph in a mixed constituency will be seen as an endorsement of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept and is expected to strengthen his approval ratings, muting the effects of the opposition’s steady attacks on his credibility and administrative policies.
The straight fight for the seat, which has 64,500 registered voters, saw BN’s P Kamalanathan polling 24,997 votes against PKR Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who mustered 23,272 votes. The results were announced by returning officer Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan at about 9.10pm. There were 731 spoilt votes and voter turnout stood at 75.87% or 48,935 voters.
The three state seats of Kuala Kubu Bharu, Hulu Bernam and Batang Kali under the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency are held by an MCA representative and two from Umno, putting it firmly under BN’s control. Kamalanathan’s victory has increased the number of MPs from the largest Indian-based party to four representatives.
The BN campaign had used the issue of Zaid’s alcohol consumption in his youth to score points with the Muslim majority voters, mounted a strong campaign for “more inclusive” politics and pledged continued development in the constituency, banking on its record of national development.
Aided by the top leaders of BN component parties who campaigned continuously for eight days, the coalition’s tested formula of stressing on welfare, stability, land allocation and promises to redevelop abandoned townships paid off. It has also appointed a federal representative to ensure that all its pledges in the by-election will be fulfilled.
Despite facing criticisms on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, allegations of corruption, controversial links with comunications consultancy Apco Worldwide and issues related to military procurement, BN remained unscathed. It managed to ride on its candidate’s “local boy” tag and his ability to mingle with the masses.
PKR’s strategy of fielding a high profile candidate could not swing enough votes at the final count. The party needs to take stock of its acceptability by voters as the by-election was held with the backdrop of defections from among its elected representatives and divisional leaders.
The fence-sitters seemed uninterested in the opposition’s line of attack, including its questioning of the authenticity of Kamalanathan’s communications degree, his perceived subservience to Umno and the query about his name in the electoral roll of the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat.
Najib told a press conference that BN’s “hard-fought win” was meaningful because BN was able to recapture the seat in the PR-led state.
“With this win... we must fulfil not just the promises we made but the people’s expectations and hopes in all respects,” he said.
“With this victory, voters have rejected the way the opposition plays politics by spreading lies. Voters cannot accept it. They can judge what is true,” Najib said.
Asked about the Chinese votes, which went mostly to PKR, Najib said BN would analyse their strong support for PKR. He believed that there was some change in their support between the start of campaigning until April 25.
To another question, Najib said it was “too early” to tell if the Hulu Selangor victory was an endorsement of his reforms but he called it “a good beginning” for the ruling coalition.
“This means we are on the right track... They’re happy with the announcements, with the thinking and policy direction but now we must make sure we provide the results,” Najib said after the results were announced.
Kamalanathan said he was “touched” by his victory but said he would have to work harder to win over all voters and not just the Chinese votes that had gone to PKR.
“This victory is not mine, this victory belongs to the Barisan Nasional machinery,” Kamalanathan told a press conference. He said that he would soon move from Rawang to Hulu Selangor, as he promised during campaigning.
MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu said an estimated 68% to 72% of Indian voters had returned to MIC and BN this time.
“We explain to them and show how important it is to be with BN to guarantee their future... We start with the new MIC that is closer to the rakyat,” Samy Vellu said, when asked about MIC’s chances in the next general election.
By FMT Team
FULL REPORT KUALA KUBU BARU: Barisan Nasional has managed to reclaim the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat after its candidate P Kamalanathan defeated PKR's Zaid Ibrahim.
The Election Commission announced that Kamalanathan had won the seat with a 1,725 vote-majority.
Kamalanathan garnered 24,997 votes while Zaid polled 23,272.
The victory will provide a boost for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who described the election as a referendum on his leadership and policies.
Najib, who is also the Selangor Umno chief, is bent on recapturing the state in the next general election. Selangor fell into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 polls.
However, the Hulu Selangor seat fell short of BN's targeted 6,000 vote-majority, indicating that the ruling coalition and its chairperson cannot rest on their laurels just as yet.
Prior to losing the “safe seat” in 2008, BN's then four-term MP and MIC deputy president G Palanivel had emerged victorious with thumping victories, surpassing the 10,000 mark.
In his last outing, Palanivel was defeated by PKR's Zainal Ahmad Abidin by a mere 198 votes, which also witnessed the number of protest votes greatly outnumbering the majority.
A by-election was called for the Hulu Selangor seat following Zainal's death on March 25.
Battle for Malay votes
Since the onset, observers had pointed out that BN's "morality" campaign against Zaid, branding him an alcoholic and gambler, would have an impact on Malay voters, who form the majority.
Kamalanathan was also portrayed as a down-to-earth candidate, with the media highlighting his proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia, whereas Zaid, a former law minister, was described as too high profile for the semi-urban constituency, littered with villages and estates.
More than an MIC man, the BN campaign promoted Kamalanathan as a 1Malaysia candidate and the underdog in what some observers had described as a battle between David and Goliath.
While Zaid managed to pull in a significant number of Chinese votes, it was not enough to offset the losses in the Malay-majority areas. Indian votes also appeared to be in favour of BN this time around.
On the other hand, Kamalanathan's victory would see MIC having an additional MP after the party was nearly annihilated in the 2008 general election.
Currently, MIC is represented by Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam (Segamat) and two deputy ministers SK Devamany (Cameron Highlands) and M Saravanan (Tapah).
In the run-up to the Hulu Selangor by-election, the BN leadership and MIC were embroiled in a tussle over who to field.
While MIC wanted Palanivel to run again, the BN leadership, however, insisted that a fresh face stood a better chance.
Following this, a consensus was reached on fielding Kamalanathan at the eleventh hour.
Meanwhile, Pakatan Rakyat supporters were in high spirits in the early stages of the vote count when Zaid was ahead by nearly 2,000 votes.
PAS operations director Jamaliddin Elias had predicted that the PKR candidate would win by more than 500 votes based on the turnout.
Whereas think-tank Zantrum Future Studies expected PKR to garner more than 52.3% support while BN will get 47.7%.
FULL REPORT KUALA KUBU BARU: Barisan Nasional has managed to reclaim the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat after its candidate P Kamalanathan defeated PKR's Zaid Ibrahim.
The Election Commission announced that Kamalanathan had won the seat with a 1,725 vote-majority.
Kamalanathan garnered 24,997 votes while Zaid polled 23,272.
The victory will provide a boost for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who described the election as a referendum on his leadership and policies.
Najib, who is also the Selangor Umno chief, is bent on recapturing the state in the next general election. Selangor fell into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 polls.
However, the Hulu Selangor seat fell short of BN's targeted 6,000 vote-majority, indicating that the ruling coalition and its chairperson cannot rest on their laurels just as yet.
Prior to losing the “safe seat” in 2008, BN's then four-term MP and MIC deputy president G Palanivel had emerged victorious with thumping victories, surpassing the 10,000 mark.
In his last outing, Palanivel was defeated by PKR's Zainal Ahmad Abidin by a mere 198 votes, which also witnessed the number of protest votes greatly outnumbering the majority.
A by-election was called for the Hulu Selangor seat following Zainal's death on March 25.
Battle for Malay votes
Since the onset, observers had pointed out that BN's "morality" campaign against Zaid, branding him an alcoholic and gambler, would have an impact on Malay voters, who form the majority.
Kamalanathan was also portrayed as a down-to-earth candidate, with the media highlighting his proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia, whereas Zaid, a former law minister, was described as too high profile for the semi-urban constituency, littered with villages and estates.
More than an MIC man, the BN campaign promoted Kamalanathan as a 1Malaysia candidate and the underdog in what some observers had described as a battle between David and Goliath.
While Zaid managed to pull in a significant number of Chinese votes, it was not enough to offset the losses in the Malay-majority areas. Indian votes also appeared to be in favour of BN this time around.
On the other hand, Kamalanathan's victory would see MIC having an additional MP after the party was nearly annihilated in the 2008 general election.
Currently, MIC is represented by Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam (Segamat) and two deputy ministers SK Devamany (Cameron Highlands) and M Saravanan (Tapah).
In the run-up to the Hulu Selangor by-election, the BN leadership and MIC were embroiled in a tussle over who to field.
While MIC wanted Palanivel to run again, the BN leadership, however, insisted that a fresh face stood a better chance.
Following this, a consensus was reached on fielding Kamalanathan at the eleventh hour.
Meanwhile, Pakatan Rakyat supporters were in high spirits in the early stages of the vote count when Zaid was ahead by nearly 2,000 votes.
PAS operations director Jamaliddin Elias had predicted that the PKR candidate would win by more than 500 votes based on the turnout.
Whereas think-tank Zantrum Future Studies expected PKR to garner more than 52.3% support while BN will get 47.7%.
KUALA KUBU BARU: Ahli Parlimen Hulu Selangor yang baru, P. Kamalanathan berikrar akan segera turun padang untuk bertemu dengan rakyat di kawasannya bagi melaksanakan tugas dan tanggungjawab yang diamanahkan.
Beliau berkata, kemenangan yang diperolehinya ini adalah satu tanggungjawab yang perlu digalas dengan sebaik mungkin.
"Saya sedar bahawa rakyat di Hulu Selangor telah beri kepercayaan kepada saya untuk melaksanakan tanggungjawab yang besar ini.
"Pada masa yang sama juga ia akan mencerminkan keprihatinan BN untuk berkhidmat kepada rakyat," katanya dalam sidang media selepaspengumuman keputusan di sini malam ini.
Kamalanathan menewaskan calon Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Zaid Ibrahim dengan majoriti 1,725 undi.
Beliau memperoleh 24,997 undi manakala Zaid 23,272 undi.
Selain itu kata Kamalanathan beliau akan turun menemui rakyat di Hulu Selangor mulai esok untuk mengucapkan terima kasih dan penghargaannya kepada mereka.
Kamalanathan juga memberitahu, beliau akan segera berpindah ke kawasan Hulu Selangor bagi memudahkannya melaksanakan tanggungjawabnya kepada rakyat.
Mengulas mengenai kemenangannya, beliau berkata ia bukan kejayaannya seorang tetapi milik semua jentera parti khususnya Pengerusi BN, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak dan timbalannya, Tan Sri MuhyiddinYassin.
Ditanya apakah strategi yang akan dilakukan untuk menawan kembali hati pengundi Cina apabila BN kalah di majoriti peti undi kaum itu, beliau berkata: "Saya akan kerja keras, bukan sahaja untuk memenangi hati kaum Cina semula tapi juga keseluruhan rakyat di Hulu Selangor tanpa mengira kaum."
-mstar.com.my
Beliau berkata, kemenangan yang diperolehinya ini adalah satu tanggungjawab yang perlu digalas dengan sebaik mungkin.
"Saya sedar bahawa rakyat di Hulu Selangor telah beri kepercayaan kepada saya untuk melaksanakan tanggungjawab yang besar ini.
"Pada masa yang sama juga ia akan mencerminkan keprihatinan BN untuk berkhidmat kepada rakyat," katanya dalam sidang media selepaspengumuman keputusan di sini malam ini.
Kamalanathan menewaskan calon Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Zaid Ibrahim dengan majoriti 1,725 undi.
Beliau memperoleh 24,997 undi manakala Zaid 23,272 undi.
Selain itu kata Kamalanathan beliau akan turun menemui rakyat di Hulu Selangor mulai esok untuk mengucapkan terima kasih dan penghargaannya kepada mereka.
Kamalanathan juga memberitahu, beliau akan segera berpindah ke kawasan Hulu Selangor bagi memudahkannya melaksanakan tanggungjawabnya kepada rakyat.
Mengulas mengenai kemenangannya, beliau berkata ia bukan kejayaannya seorang tetapi milik semua jentera parti khususnya Pengerusi BN, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak dan timbalannya, Tan Sri MuhyiddinYassin.
Ditanya apakah strategi yang akan dilakukan untuk menawan kembali hati pengundi Cina apabila BN kalah di majoriti peti undi kaum itu, beliau berkata: "Saya akan kerja keras, bukan sahaja untuk memenangi hati kaum Cina semula tapi juga keseluruhan rakyat di Hulu Selangor tanpa mengira kaum."
-mstar.com.my
KUALA KUBU BARU, 25 April – Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak sifatkan kejayaan Barisan Nasional (BN) di Hulu Selangor sebagai kemenangan yang membawa serti yang besar kepada BN.
“Kalau kita lihat pada 2008 dan kali ini bukti sudah berlaku peralihan sokongan kepada BN menghampiri 2,000 undi.
“Kita bertanding di sebuah negeri pembangkang, kalau dulu kita bertanding di negeri yang kita kuasai dengan kemenangan ini kita bersungguh-sungguh untuk memenuhi amanat rakyat yang kita mesti ambil serius dan laksanakan semua janji serta jangkaan dan harapan rakyat dari segi kebajikan dan pembangunan,” katanya pada sidang media selepas Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) mengumumkan kemenangan keputusan PRK Hulu Selangor di Kompleks Serbaguna Hulu Selangor, di sini, malam ini.
Pengerusi BN itu berkata, kejayaan itu membuktikan pengundi tidak menerima budaya fitnah. “Tahniah kepada jentera BN dan semua komponen parti, termasuk semua pihak yang secara langsung atau tidak langsung terlibat.
“Lihat calon berwibawa perwatakannya cepat menawan hati penduduk dan saya yakin ‘kamal’ mampu melaksanakkan tanggungjawab serta dapat mengetengahkan masyarakat Hulu Selangor.”
Menjawab satu soalan, Perdana Menteri akui sokongan pengundi cina kurang.
Beliau seterusnya berkata, BN akan membuat analisa dan tidak mahu membuat kesimpulan dengan cepat. “Walaupun di peti undi kawasan Cina kita kalah, saya percaya berlaku peningkatan. Saya tengok pada Hari Penamaan Calon dan pengumuman keputusan malam ini sudah ada perubahan.
“Saya yakin majoriti akan bertambah pada pilihan raya umum akan datang. Kalau kita buat kerja, tentu tiada masalah.”
“Kalau kita lihat pada 2008 dan kali ini bukti sudah berlaku peralihan sokongan kepada BN menghampiri 2,000 undi.
“Kita bertanding di sebuah negeri pembangkang, kalau dulu kita bertanding di negeri yang kita kuasai dengan kemenangan ini kita bersungguh-sungguh untuk memenuhi amanat rakyat yang kita mesti ambil serius dan laksanakan semua janji serta jangkaan dan harapan rakyat dari segi kebajikan dan pembangunan,” katanya pada sidang media selepas Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) mengumumkan kemenangan keputusan PRK Hulu Selangor di Kompleks Serbaguna Hulu Selangor, di sini, malam ini.
Pengerusi BN itu berkata, kejayaan itu membuktikan pengundi tidak menerima budaya fitnah. “Tahniah kepada jentera BN dan semua komponen parti, termasuk semua pihak yang secara langsung atau tidak langsung terlibat.
“Lihat calon berwibawa perwatakannya cepat menawan hati penduduk dan saya yakin ‘kamal’ mampu melaksanakkan tanggungjawab serta dapat mengetengahkan masyarakat Hulu Selangor.”
Menjawab satu soalan, Perdana Menteri akui sokongan pengundi cina kurang.
Beliau seterusnya berkata, BN akan membuat analisa dan tidak mahu membuat kesimpulan dengan cepat. “Walaupun di peti undi kawasan Cina kita kalah, saya percaya berlaku peningkatan. Saya tengok pada Hari Penamaan Calon dan pengumuman keputusan malam ini sudah ada perubahan.
“Saya yakin majoriti akan bertambah pada pilihan raya umum akan datang. Kalau kita buat kerja, tentu tiada masalah.”
KUALA KUBU BARU, 25 April – Calon Barisan Nasional (BN) P Kamalanathan anggap kejayaan BN sebagai kemenangan kepada pimpinan Perdana Menteri, terutama penerimaan rakyat terhadap Gagasan 1Malaysia.
“Kemenangan ini bukan saya punya, kemenangan ini milik Jentera BN, Perdana Menteri, Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan seluruh rakyat Hulu Selangor.
“Saya amat terharu dengan kemenangan ini dan sedar rakan-rakan di Hulu Selangor beri kepercayaan untuk melaksanakan tanggungjawab. Saya sedar tanggungjawab yang dipikul akan dinilai secara keseluruhan iaitu BN.
“Secepat mungkin saya akan melawati semua pengundi, tidak kisah sama ada mereka mengundi saya atau tidak. Bagi saya semua mereka sama saja, saya nak jumpa untuk ucap terima kasih,” pada sidang media selepas pengumuman keputusan Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Hulu Selangor di sini, malam ini.
Ketua Penerangan MIC Pusat itu juga memberitahu, beliau akan berpindah rumah untuk tinggal di Hulu Selangor di dalam masa terdekat.
“Saya berjanji, saya akan bekerja keras untuk mendapatkan semua sokongan rakyat tanpa mengira kaum dan selepas ini. Terima kasih kepada semua rakan media, sesungguhnya manusia merancang, Tuhan menentukan,” ujarnya.
“Kemenangan ini bukan saya punya, kemenangan ini milik Jentera BN, Perdana Menteri, Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan seluruh rakyat Hulu Selangor.
“Saya amat terharu dengan kemenangan ini dan sedar rakan-rakan di Hulu Selangor beri kepercayaan untuk melaksanakan tanggungjawab. Saya sedar tanggungjawab yang dipikul akan dinilai secara keseluruhan iaitu BN.
“Secepat mungkin saya akan melawati semua pengundi, tidak kisah sama ada mereka mengundi saya atau tidak. Bagi saya semua mereka sama saja, saya nak jumpa untuk ucap terima kasih,” pada sidang media selepas pengumuman keputusan Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Hulu Selangor di sini, malam ini.
Ketua Penerangan MIC Pusat itu juga memberitahu, beliau akan berpindah rumah untuk tinggal di Hulu Selangor di dalam masa terdekat.
“Saya berjanji, saya akan bekerja keras untuk mendapatkan semua sokongan rakyat tanpa mengira kaum dan selepas ini. Terima kasih kepada semua rakan media, sesungguhnya manusia merancang, Tuhan menentukan,” ujarnya.
By S. Retnanathan
HULU SELANGOR, April 20 (Bernama) -- After a mundane start, the campaign for Sunday's Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election is expected to pick up speed in a day or two.
While hordes of supporters from both sides of the political divide have set up bases in this vast constituency, which is the size of Melaka, locals have yet to feel the "heat" of the by-election.
"The only sign that a by-election is going on is the posters. Posters and banners are everywhere, minus the crowd or even campaign workers. We can see booths of political parties but most of the time they are not manned," a local businessman, Saiful Amiruddin, 47, told Bernama when met at Bukit Sentosa, here.
While the campaign on the ground is moving at a snail's pace, both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), are expected to accelerate their campaign in a day or two.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to visit the constituency of about 64,500 voters on Wednesday night to give the much-needed shot in the arm for the ruling coalition's election workers.
He will visit all three major election centres in Hulu Selangor -- Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Baharu -- to whip up the spirit of BN election workers and at the same time show voters that their ballot for the ruling coalition is vital.
The Hulu Selangor by-election will see a straight fight between BN's P. Kamalanathan and PKR's Zaid Ibrahim. Two independents, who filed their nomination papers on Saturday, pulled out of the race yesterday.
Observers here said the sheer size of the constituency made it hard for political parties to cover it fully and this was the reason why the "heat" of the polls had not been felt yet.
"Hulu Selangor is very big. It borders Perak on the north and Pahang on the east. This is the reason why you do not see feverish campaign like in previous by-elections.
"Another factor, is that election machineries from both sides normally take time to warm up and to get to know the terrain here. Once they get to know the local party members, then can go full steam... it takes two or three days," said a political observer, who declined to be named.
A random survey by Bernama at ceramah by both sides also reveal lukewarm attendance but the crowd is expected to swell on the last lap of campaigning starting Thursday.
"These ceramah are only well attended if there are prominent leaders present. On the BN's side, when the Deputy Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) is present. On the opposition side, when (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim is around. They are the crowd pullers.
"Otherwise it is just the normal crowd. But crowd attendance at ceramah cannot be used to gauge support because some people might just turn up out of curiosity," said an MIC central working committee member, who is campaigning on the ground.
Agreeing that the pace of campaigning would pick up pace in a day or two, he said much of the campaigning by both sides was focused on door-to-door campaigning rather than mass canvassing.
"We find visiting voters at their homes is more appealing to them. We get to know them personally. The voters too feel happy that we are visiting their them at home," he added.
Another method used by the ruling coalition in an effort to mix with the locals is to change from their formal attire to sports clothing and joining the local youth in games like volleyball or football.
Over the last two days Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, MIC Youth chief T. Mohan and rest of the BN youth have been joining locals in games.
"Off course, that is good. Winning over the youth in what they like doing. When they get leaders like Khairy playing volleyball or football with them, they get to know the leader better and get closer to them. It is a good strategy," said an observer.
While the heat over the last two days was unbearable, the rain since last night in this sleepy hollow has somewhat cooled things down.
Although the rain has provided some respite to elections workers, it could also play spoiler as rain could hinder movement especially when it comes to door-to-door campaigning and ceramah.
-- BERNAMA
HULU SELANGOR, April 20 (Bernama) -- After a mundane start, the campaign for Sunday's Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election is expected to pick up speed in a day or two.
While hordes of supporters from both sides of the political divide have set up bases in this vast constituency, which is the size of Melaka, locals have yet to feel the "heat" of the by-election.
"The only sign that a by-election is going on is the posters. Posters and banners are everywhere, minus the crowd or even campaign workers. We can see booths of political parties but most of the time they are not manned," a local businessman, Saiful Amiruddin, 47, told Bernama when met at Bukit Sentosa, here.
While the campaign on the ground is moving at a snail's pace, both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), are expected to accelerate their campaign in a day or two.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to visit the constituency of about 64,500 voters on Wednesday night to give the much-needed shot in the arm for the ruling coalition's election workers.
He will visit all three major election centres in Hulu Selangor -- Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Baharu -- to whip up the spirit of BN election workers and at the same time show voters that their ballot for the ruling coalition is vital.
The Hulu Selangor by-election will see a straight fight between BN's P. Kamalanathan and PKR's Zaid Ibrahim. Two independents, who filed their nomination papers on Saturday, pulled out of the race yesterday.
Observers here said the sheer size of the constituency made it hard for political parties to cover it fully and this was the reason why the "heat" of the polls had not been felt yet.
"Hulu Selangor is very big. It borders Perak on the north and Pahang on the east. This is the reason why you do not see feverish campaign like in previous by-elections.
"Another factor, is that election machineries from both sides normally take time to warm up and to get to know the terrain here. Once they get to know the local party members, then can go full steam... it takes two or three days," said a political observer, who declined to be named.
A random survey by Bernama at ceramah by both sides also reveal lukewarm attendance but the crowd is expected to swell on the last lap of campaigning starting Thursday.
"These ceramah are only well attended if there are prominent leaders present. On the BN's side, when the Deputy Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) is present. On the opposition side, when (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim is around. They are the crowd pullers.
"Otherwise it is just the normal crowd. But crowd attendance at ceramah cannot be used to gauge support because some people might just turn up out of curiosity," said an MIC central working committee member, who is campaigning on the ground.
Agreeing that the pace of campaigning would pick up pace in a day or two, he said much of the campaigning by both sides was focused on door-to-door campaigning rather than mass canvassing.
"We find visiting voters at their homes is more appealing to them. We get to know them personally. The voters too feel happy that we are visiting their them at home," he added.
Another method used by the ruling coalition in an effort to mix with the locals is to change from their formal attire to sports clothing and joining the local youth in games like volleyball or football.
Over the last two days Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, MIC Youth chief T. Mohan and rest of the BN youth have been joining locals in games.
"Off course, that is good. Winning over the youth in what they like doing. When they get leaders like Khairy playing volleyball or football with them, they get to know the leader better and get closer to them. It is a good strategy," said an observer.
While the heat over the last two days was unbearable, the rain since last night in this sleepy hollow has somewhat cooled things down.
Although the rain has provided some respite to elections workers, it could also play spoiler as rain could hinder movement especially when it comes to door-to-door campaigning and ceramah.
-- BERNAMA
KUALA KUBU BARU: Barisan Nasional candidate P. Kamalanathan has been spending 20 hours a day on the campaign trail.
After four days of hectic campaigning, the 44-year-old public relations manager is still as fit as a fiddle and continues to woo voters in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency with seemingly endless energy.
Everywhere he goes, he seems to attract crowds of women, all of them fighting to take pictures with him.
“My name is Kamalanathan. Please give me a chance to serve and be your friend. I promise I will give 120%,” is his usual starting line.
Decked in Barisan colours — white T-shirt, blue track pants and sneakers — he and his wife S. Shobana usually hit the campaign trail as early as 7am.
On Tuesday, he visited the Kuala Kubu Baru wet market where he shook hands with people of all walks of life.
Some gave him words of encouragements while others greeted him with a smile. A few photographs were snapped.
One woman was heard saying in Malay: “He is young. He can work.”
He then stopped at a stall in the market for a cup of tea and was treated to a popiah by the owner of a nearby foodstall.
His next stop was the district government offices where he canvassed for the votes of the civil servants.
“They are my voters. I have to introduce myself and hope they will give me a chance,” he said.
The lanky Kamalanathan walks fast and his entourage members have a tough time tagging along.
In the midst of talking with people from the Welfare Department, police, district office and other departments, he managed to give a 30-minute interview with Radio FM Selangor before resuming his rounds.
Although many feel confident of Kamalanathan wresting back the seat from PKR based on the overwhelming response from the Hulu Selangor people, he feels that there is still a lot of work to be done.
“As a public relations practitioner, I love meeting people. I have made thousands of friends.
“We should not be over-confident of a win. We have to meet as many voters as possible and ask them to vote,” he said.
Before going to bed at 3am, Kamalanathan had visited scores of other locations.
Besides Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, he even crossed paths with his political foe, PKR candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, his wife and supporters.
Kamalanathan, who was having lunch in Taman Teratai, quickly stood up and shook hands with them. They even managed a hug.
In an earlier interview, Kamalanathan had said this week was going to be his longest week.
“I hope to cover as many areas as possible. I am working very, very hard and I am focused in meeting the people and telling them what the Barisan can do and what I can do for them,” he said.
After four days of hectic campaigning, the 44-year-old public relations manager is still as fit as a fiddle and continues to woo voters in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency with seemingly endless energy.
Everywhere he goes, he seems to attract crowds of women, all of them fighting to take pictures with him.
“My name is Kamalanathan. Please give me a chance to serve and be your friend. I promise I will give 120%,” is his usual starting line.
Decked in Barisan colours — white T-shirt, blue track pants and sneakers — he and his wife S. Shobana usually hit the campaign trail as early as 7am.
On Tuesday, he visited the Kuala Kubu Baru wet market where he shook hands with people of all walks of life.
Some gave him words of encouragements while others greeted him with a smile. A few photographs were snapped.
One woman was heard saying in Malay: “He is young. He can work.”
He then stopped at a stall in the market for a cup of tea and was treated to a popiah by the owner of a nearby foodstall.
His next stop was the district government offices where he canvassed for the votes of the civil servants.
“They are my voters. I have to introduce myself and hope they will give me a chance,” he said.
The lanky Kamalanathan walks fast and his entourage members have a tough time tagging along.
In the midst of talking with people from the Welfare Department, police, district office and other departments, he managed to give a 30-minute interview with Radio FM Selangor before resuming his rounds.
Although many feel confident of Kamalanathan wresting back the seat from PKR based on the overwhelming response from the Hulu Selangor people, he feels that there is still a lot of work to be done.
“As a public relations practitioner, I love meeting people. I have made thousands of friends.
“We should not be over-confident of a win. We have to meet as many voters as possible and ask them to vote,” he said.
Before going to bed at 3am, Kamalanathan had visited scores of other locations.
Besides Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, he even crossed paths with his political foe, PKR candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, his wife and supporters.
Kamalanathan, who was having lunch in Taman Teratai, quickly stood up and shook hands with them. They even managed a hug.
In an earlier interview, Kamalanathan had said this week was going to be his longest week.
“I hope to cover as many areas as possible. I am working very, very hard and I am focused in meeting the people and telling them what the Barisan can do and what I can do for them,” he said.
HULU SELANGOR, April 20 (Bernama) -- Declaring that he would not make any empty promises, Barisan Nasional's P. Kamalanathan said he would concentrate more on welfare issues confronting voters in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency if elected.
He said this was based on feedback he received when campaigning since nomination day on Saturday, adding that he was willing to be dropped in the next election if his performance was not up to the mark.
"One aspect I am looking at is developing new industries, especially related to eco-tourism in Kuala Kubu Baharu which can provide job opportunities to the peole of Hulu Selangor," he said when met on his campaign round in Kuala Kubu Baharu town, here, Tuesday.
The MIC information chief said he was working round the clock to meet as many voters as possible and try to win the hearts and minds of the 64,500-odd voters in the constituency.
The public relations expert said he had so far completed about 20 to 30 per cent of campaigning in the constituency, which is as big as Melaka.
"I hope to go full swing in the next few days. I was surprised with the strength I have in me and I am grateful for that," he said.
Kamalanathan said he had met all the BN by-election machinery in the constituency and was confident in BN wresting back the seat which was won by Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the 2008 general election.
"I had met about 10,000 voters until yesterday and am looking forward to see another 30,000 to 40,000 by the end of campaiging. I am using 'friendship' as an appproach to get close to voters and that seems to be effective," he said.
He is facing Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
Kamalanathan said he was even more motivated now that Prime Minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be giving a helping hand for his campaign by visiting the constituency tomorrow.
-- BERNAMA
He said this was based on feedback he received when campaigning since nomination day on Saturday, adding that he was willing to be dropped in the next election if his performance was not up to the mark.
"One aspect I am looking at is developing new industries, especially related to eco-tourism in Kuala Kubu Baharu which can provide job opportunities to the peole of Hulu Selangor," he said when met on his campaign round in Kuala Kubu Baharu town, here, Tuesday.
The MIC information chief said he was working round the clock to meet as many voters as possible and try to win the hearts and minds of the 64,500-odd voters in the constituency.
The public relations expert said he had so far completed about 20 to 30 per cent of campaigning in the constituency, which is as big as Melaka.
"I hope to go full swing in the next few days. I was surprised with the strength I have in me and I am grateful for that," he said.
Kamalanathan said he had met all the BN by-election machinery in the constituency and was confident in BN wresting back the seat which was won by Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the 2008 general election.
"I had met about 10,000 voters until yesterday and am looking forward to see another 30,000 to 40,000 by the end of campaiging. I am using 'friendship' as an appproach to get close to voters and that seems to be effective," he said.
He is facing Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
Kamalanathan said he was even more motivated now that Prime Minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be giving a helping hand for his campaign by visiting the constituency tomorrow.
-- BERNAMA
By Alan Ting
HULU SELANGOR, April 21 (Bernama) -- Sunday's Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election is expected to be another litmus test for both the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat since the Bukit Gantang by-election last May. The stakes are indeed high for both parties.
For the BN, it would be a test of acceptance and acknowledgment of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his policies since he took office a year ago.
On the opposition's side, it will be a scrutiny of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) after a series of high-profile defections from the party of late.
This by-election has been labelled as a contest between a PKR heavyweight in Datuk Zaid Ibrahim against a lightweight from MIC, P. Kamalanathan, who is the party's information chief.
If the PKR's present standing at the national stage is taken into consideration, then perhaps the "on the surface" prognosis may tend to favour Zaid.
But many argue that such an assessment is misplaced or misguided, especially with what PKR had undergone in the last two months when it experienced many desertions.
It is no wonder that DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang had even cautioned the PR parties against over-confidence, sternly reminding them not to dismiss the hard, cold facts from the 2008 general election.
Stressing that the April 25 by-election is not a "sure winner" for PR, he pointed out that the BN had lost the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat by only a slim majority of 198 votes but had swept all the three state seats within the constituency with large majorities.
The BN took Hulu Bernam with a majority of 3,548 votes, Batang Kali 2,179 votes and Kuala Kubu Baru 448 votes.
In this respect, Lim wondered what had caused the collective majority of 6,175 votes for the BN in the three state seats to turn into a loss of 198 votes for the BN's parliamentary candidate, Datuk G. Palanivel.
The DAP political old-hand reasoned that it was clearly not because the 6,175 voters rooting for BN's state seats had suddenly decided to vote for PKR in the parliamentary contest as the total number of votes for PKR, at 23,388, was only 54 votes more than the total number of votes obtained by PR candidates in Hulu Bernam, Batang kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu, at 23,334 votes.
Lim also dismissed the likelihood of BN's 2008 loss in Hulu Selangor being due to spoilt votes as they numbered on1y 1,466 votes and this figure was not far from the total number of spoilt votes for the three state seats at 1,271 votes.
Palanivel secured 23,190 votes but this was 6,320 votes less than the total number of votes cast for the three BN candidates in the three state seats at 29,510 votes.
Lim said that clearly, more than 6,200 voters in the last general election who voted for the BN at the state level did not vote for Palanivel.
But what is significant is that these voters also did not vote for PR.
So the question is where did these more than 6,200 voters disappear to?
"If 2,000 or 3,000 of these voters come out to vote for the BN on April 25, the BN can win. Hence, all PKR, PAS and DAP leaders and campaigners should realise that the Hulu Selangor by-election is not a sure winner (for PR)," Lim said.
It would appear that Lim's arguments showed that the BN lost in Hulu Selangor in 2008 because the voters were unhappy with Palanivel and not so much the ticket that he had contested on.
Some political analysts also concur with Lim's point. It is also said that the BN would have won Hulu Selangor if not for the split votes, seen most notably among Malay voters since the BN won all the state seats in the parliamentary constituency.
Insiders from PKR's election machinery said that PKR needed to retain the seat was to maintain 45 per cent support from the Malays voters, 70 per cent votes of the Chinese, 50 per cent of the Indian votes and half of the Orang Asli votes.
"If this happens, we can retain the seat with a majority of between 500 and 1,000 votes," a PKR insider said.
The BN, on the other hand, calculates that it has a chance to re-capture the seat as long as it can get 65 per cent of the Malay support as well as 60 per cent Indian, 30 per cent Chinese and 50 per cent Orang Asli support.
"If we can only obtain 60 per cent Malay support while we achieve the support level from other races, it will still be tough for us to capture the seat," a BN insider told Bernama.
An analysis of the 2008 Hulu Selangor parliamentary results showed that there was a swing to the Opposition in the Indian majority areas such as Ladang Kerling, Changkat Asa and Sungai Choh Barat.
The Chinese majority areas such as Kampung Baru Cina Kuala Kubu Baharu, Hulu Yam Lama, Hulu Yam Baharu also swung to the opposition.
Given the close nature of this race, Hulu Selangor will provide the testing ground for the MIC leadership and the newly-elected MCA leadership to deliver the non-Malay votes.
Some political observers believe that PKR picked Zaid because he is more acceptable to the non-Malay voters. But Zaid seems to be under "attack" over his past indulgences.
Still, opposition die-hards tend to ask: can PKR repeat its achievement of 2008 this time around? Nobody knows for sure. But PKR strategic director Tian Chua did say in jest in that "every time the party fields a local candidate, we lost, but when we put up a heavyweight candidate, we won."
On the other hand, political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian feels that the BN needs quite some time to do damage control over the choice of its candidate because Kamalanathan was not on the radar screen until very recently.
Although many may perceive Kamalanathan as a "political lightweight", he is scoring and winning hearts and minds in rapid fashion with his affable personality. His humble background, lack of political baggage and his sincerity to serve makes a big difference to the rural voters of Hulu Selangor.
Physically, Kamalanathan may be lighter than Zaid but then again one cannot discount the possibility that the public relations practitioner may turn out to be a giant-killer on Sunday.
-- BERNAMA
HULU SELANGOR, April 21 (Bernama) -- Sunday's Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election is expected to be another litmus test for both the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat since the Bukit Gantang by-election last May. The stakes are indeed high for both parties.
For the BN, it would be a test of acceptance and acknowledgment of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his policies since he took office a year ago.
On the opposition's side, it will be a scrutiny of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) after a series of high-profile defections from the party of late.
This by-election has been labelled as a contest between a PKR heavyweight in Datuk Zaid Ibrahim against a lightweight from MIC, P. Kamalanathan, who is the party's information chief.
If the PKR's present standing at the national stage is taken into consideration, then perhaps the "on the surface" prognosis may tend to favour Zaid.
But many argue that such an assessment is misplaced or misguided, especially with what PKR had undergone in the last two months when it experienced many desertions.
It is no wonder that DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang had even cautioned the PR parties against over-confidence, sternly reminding them not to dismiss the hard, cold facts from the 2008 general election.
Stressing that the April 25 by-election is not a "sure winner" for PR, he pointed out that the BN had lost the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat by only a slim majority of 198 votes but had swept all the three state seats within the constituency with large majorities.
The BN took Hulu Bernam with a majority of 3,548 votes, Batang Kali 2,179 votes and Kuala Kubu Baru 448 votes.
In this respect, Lim wondered what had caused the collective majority of 6,175 votes for the BN in the three state seats to turn into a loss of 198 votes for the BN's parliamentary candidate, Datuk G. Palanivel.
The DAP political old-hand reasoned that it was clearly not because the 6,175 voters rooting for BN's state seats had suddenly decided to vote for PKR in the parliamentary contest as the total number of votes for PKR, at 23,388, was only 54 votes more than the total number of votes obtained by PR candidates in Hulu Bernam, Batang kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu, at 23,334 votes.
Lim also dismissed the likelihood of BN's 2008 loss in Hulu Selangor being due to spoilt votes as they numbered on1y 1,466 votes and this figure was not far from the total number of spoilt votes for the three state seats at 1,271 votes.
Palanivel secured 23,190 votes but this was 6,320 votes less than the total number of votes cast for the three BN candidates in the three state seats at 29,510 votes.
Lim said that clearly, more than 6,200 voters in the last general election who voted for the BN at the state level did not vote for Palanivel.
But what is significant is that these voters also did not vote for PR.
So the question is where did these more than 6,200 voters disappear to?
"If 2,000 or 3,000 of these voters come out to vote for the BN on April 25, the BN can win. Hence, all PKR, PAS and DAP leaders and campaigners should realise that the Hulu Selangor by-election is not a sure winner (for PR)," Lim said.
It would appear that Lim's arguments showed that the BN lost in Hulu Selangor in 2008 because the voters were unhappy with Palanivel and not so much the ticket that he had contested on.
Some political analysts also concur with Lim's point. It is also said that the BN would have won Hulu Selangor if not for the split votes, seen most notably among Malay voters since the BN won all the state seats in the parliamentary constituency.
Insiders from PKR's election machinery said that PKR needed to retain the seat was to maintain 45 per cent support from the Malays voters, 70 per cent votes of the Chinese, 50 per cent of the Indian votes and half of the Orang Asli votes.
"If this happens, we can retain the seat with a majority of between 500 and 1,000 votes," a PKR insider said.
The BN, on the other hand, calculates that it has a chance to re-capture the seat as long as it can get 65 per cent of the Malay support as well as 60 per cent Indian, 30 per cent Chinese and 50 per cent Orang Asli support.
"If we can only obtain 60 per cent Malay support while we achieve the support level from other races, it will still be tough for us to capture the seat," a BN insider told Bernama.
An analysis of the 2008 Hulu Selangor parliamentary results showed that there was a swing to the Opposition in the Indian majority areas such as Ladang Kerling, Changkat Asa and Sungai Choh Barat.
The Chinese majority areas such as Kampung Baru Cina Kuala Kubu Baharu, Hulu Yam Lama, Hulu Yam Baharu also swung to the opposition.
Given the close nature of this race, Hulu Selangor will provide the testing ground for the MIC leadership and the newly-elected MCA leadership to deliver the non-Malay votes.
Some political observers believe that PKR picked Zaid because he is more acceptable to the non-Malay voters. But Zaid seems to be under "attack" over his past indulgences.
Still, opposition die-hards tend to ask: can PKR repeat its achievement of 2008 this time around? Nobody knows for sure. But PKR strategic director Tian Chua did say in jest in that "every time the party fields a local candidate, we lost, but when we put up a heavyweight candidate, we won."
On the other hand, political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian feels that the BN needs quite some time to do damage control over the choice of its candidate because Kamalanathan was not on the radar screen until very recently.
Although many may perceive Kamalanathan as a "political lightweight", he is scoring and winning hearts and minds in rapid fashion with his affable personality. His humble background, lack of political baggage and his sincerity to serve makes a big difference to the rural voters of Hulu Selangor.
Physically, Kamalanathan may be lighter than Zaid but then again one cannot discount the possibility that the public relations practitioner may turn out to be a giant-killer on Sunday.
-- BERNAMA
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
KUALA KUBU BARU: Declaring that he would not make any empty promises, Barisan Nasional's P. Kamalanathan said he would concentrate more on welfare issues confronting voters in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency, if elected.
He said this was based on feedback he received when campaigning since nomination day on Saturday, adding that he was willing to be dropped in the next election if his performance was not up to the mark.
"One aspect I am looking at is developing new industries, especially related to eco-tourism, in Kuala Kubu Baru which can provide job opportunities to the peole of Hulu Selangor," he said when met on his campaign rounds here Tuesday.
The MIC information chief said he was working around the clock to meet as many voters as possible and try to win the hearts and minds of the 64,500-odd voters in the constituency.
The public relations expert said he had so far completed about 20-30% of campaigning in the constituency, which is as big as Malacca.
"I hope to go full swing in the next few days. I was surprised with the strength I have in me and I am grateful for that," he said.
Kamalanathan said he had met all the Barisan by-election machinery in the constituency and was confident of the coalition wresting back the seat which was won by PKR in the 2008 general election.
"I met about 10,000 voters until yesterday and am looking forward to see another 30,000 to 40,000 by the end of campaiging. I am using 'friendship' as an appproach to get close to voters and that seems to be effective," he said.
He is facing PKR's Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
Kamalanathan said he was even more motivated now that Prime Minister and Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be giving a helping hand for his campaign by visiting the constituency on Wednesday.
The Malaysian Indian Congress has set up a Putera wing to create an avenue for the young Malaysian graduates and under graduates to help the community in social and educational issues, P Kamalanathan was appointed to lead the Putera wing in the year of 2007.
Taking over the wing, he first started a membership drive thorough the new media where an official website was launched and everything is paperless, till to date. Putera membership is only done through the website. nevertheless our existence on facebook, twitter and also online tv’s. This was a great change in the MIC system and attracted many young, talented youths to join the wing, not only those in Malaysia but also our Malaysians who are studying abroad.
To share on a personal basis, even I become a member of the wing in January 2007 through the official website when I was studying overseas (India)
This method has resulted more professionals to join the wing and to date we have all levels of professionals in various sectors in the system to develop more leaders for the future of Malaysia.
Among the major projects P Kamalanathan has initiated in Putera:
‘The Yale” which means The Young Academician Leadership Convention.
This programme is organised in a large scale in the AIMST University, Kedah in the month of May and continued with a series of it nationwide in individual states mainly attended by student leaders from various IPTA/IPTS.
Science fair for Young Kids (primary school)
This is another annual programme which is done with the assistance of a few NGO’s nationwide to provide an opportunity to young kids to nurture the importance and develop the interest of science from young age.
Manya Bloggers Awards / Bloggers Buff
Being a blogger, he understands well how important the blogging world is in the current world, here’s another programme conducted yearly to expose more youths blogging and encourages them to be fair in their postings. This programme is open to all races to participate and it was organised in PWTC last year.
National Pongal Event,
Pongal which is a harvest festival for the Indian community was organised in a large scale in KLIA, KL Tower and Brickfields in the previous years. This was able to create an awareness & exposure of the culture towards the other communities.
Oray Malaysia which means 1Malaysia
This forum was created during the launch of 1Malaysia concept by the Prime Minister YAB Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak to mainly promote the values & spirit of 1Malaysia among the youths. Oray Malaysia forum is also organised in a few places nationwide.
1 Home 1 Pc.
This project was launched very recently to help the poor students to own a pc at home by offering at a very minimum price without profits or by getting sponsors depending upon case to case.
Besides all this major programmes conducted on an annual basis, the list goes on for all the other projects which is organised very frequently includes, leadership talks, workshops, chess competitions, street soccer competitions, sukaneka, book donation drive, blood donations, computer donation drive, charity work, dialogs with university students, debate competitions and many more……..
PuteraMIC can be a wing by MIC but we are very much open to all the other races to work with us together to promote Malaysianism & other values among us, therefore we have a wing call ‘Friends of Putera’ which consist of all races which to date we enjoy the pleasure of working together to develop a better bangsa Malaysia.
Putera MIC’s existence is also worldwide where we have our chapters in 12 countries to mainly assist our Malaysian students in the particular country.
All this come to a success till today with our visionary leader, P Kamalanathan…..!
We wish him All the Best & we want a person like him to continue creating more opportunities for the younger generation in our beloved country, Malaysia.
Salam Hormat & Salam 1Malaysia.
Chief.
PuteraMIC India / International Bureau.
Taking over the wing, he first started a membership drive thorough the new media where an official website was launched and everything is paperless, till to date. Putera membership is only done through the website. nevertheless our existence on facebook, twitter and also online tv’s. This was a great change in the MIC system and attracted many young, talented youths to join the wing, not only those in Malaysia but also our Malaysians who are studying abroad.
To share on a personal basis, even I become a member of the wing in January 2007 through the official website when I was studying overseas (India)
This method has resulted more professionals to join the wing and to date we have all levels of professionals in various sectors in the system to develop more leaders for the future of Malaysia.
Among the major projects P Kamalanathan has initiated in Putera:
‘The Yale” which means The Young Academician Leadership Convention.
This programme is organised in a large scale in the AIMST University, Kedah in the month of May and continued with a series of it nationwide in individual states mainly attended by student leaders from various IPTA/IPTS.
This is another annual programme which is done with the assistance of a few NGO’s nationwide to provide an opportunity to young kids to nurture the importance and develop the interest of science from young age.
Being a blogger, he understands well how important the blogging world is in the current world, here’s another programme conducted yearly to expose more youths blogging and encourages them to be fair in their postings. This programme is open to all races to participate and it was organised in PWTC last year.
National Pongal Event,
Pongal which is a harvest festival for the Indian community was organised in a large scale in KLIA, KL Tower and Brickfields in the previous years. This was able to create an awareness & exposure of the culture towards the other communities.
Oray Malaysia which means 1Malaysia
This forum was created during the launch of 1Malaysia concept by the Prime Minister YAB Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak to mainly promote the values & spirit of 1Malaysia among the youths. Oray Malaysia forum is also organised in a few places nationwide.
1 Home 1 Pc.
This project was launched very recently to help the poor students to own a pc at home by offering at a very minimum price without profits or by getting sponsors depending upon case to case.
Besides all this major programmes conducted on an annual basis, the list goes on for all the other projects which is organised very frequently includes, leadership talks, workshops, chess competitions, street soccer competitions, sukaneka, book donation drive, blood donations, computer donation drive, charity work, dialogs with university students, debate competitions and many more……..
PuteraMIC can be a wing by MIC but we are very much open to all the other races to work with us together to promote Malaysianism & other values among us, therefore we have a wing call ‘Friends of Putera’ which consist of all races which to date we enjoy the pleasure of working together to develop a better bangsa Malaysia.
Putera MIC’s existence is also worldwide where we have our chapters in 12 countries to mainly assist our Malaysian students in the particular country.
All this come to a success till today with our visionary leader, P Kamalanathan…..!
We wish him All the Best & we want a person like him to continue creating more opportunities for the younger generation in our beloved country, Malaysia.
Salam Hormat & Salam 1Malaysia.
Chief.
PuteraMIC India / International Bureau.
It was a beautiful morning, Kuala Kubu Baru was creating history, this small and quiet town were transformed into a battleground with banners, flags and roars. The crowd were equal on both sides and the police were maintaining the peace well, i mean for a short time.
When the marching started, i was near the front row with the candidate, DPM and other VIP's. It was amazing, BN supporters were singing "Inilah barisan kita" songs and the feeling was fantastic. We were singing and laughing and the walk towards the nomination hall was about 1 km . Thousands were marching along and the police stopped us just before the hall, only the person with a special tag are allowed to pass the barb wire into the nomination hall. When you place a roll of barb wire across the road and suddenly the entire crowd were forced to stop, imagine the chaos.
I personally think it was very in-efficient way and they never thought of the consequences. The march should be narrowed down much earlier so that the crowd knows that there were barb wires infront. Without warning, the front row were stopped and the people at the back came crashing unto them. Many people fell and got injured, Datuk Shafie, Datuk Samy, Datuk Ganesan and many more were injured. I nearly fell on the barb wire myself, luckily i was pulled by a man. It was simply a bad planning and a disaster.
Well, i thought the worst has passed but when the two sides were waiting for their respective candidates submit their nomination paper, the tension mounted outside. Both the PKR and BN were separated by about 20 meters with police and guards keeping the peace. All hell break loose when they started hurling words and soon, water bottles flying all over the place. It was a war zone for a short time, i was right in the middle of it and took some beating as well, in the name of election. A 500ml mineral water bottle, full with water is a very dangerous weapon and it hurts too, i got 2 bottles on my head for a start.The FRU marches in and still the fight went on. The sad part was, they took the fight into the mosque area and that should never, never had happened.
I decided to walk back to the MIC Election Center before more missiles were thrown at me and i believe the commotion stopped a few minutes later. Why people are so emotional, if they support someone, go vote for him and make the person win. Shouting and fighting doesn't solve anything, maybe they are having fun but on whose expense. This is a game for them and it's becoming a normal practice , i wonder who teaches them to do this?
Capt.Ragu (MIC Perling)
When the marching started, i was near the front row with the candidate, DPM and other VIP's. It was amazing, BN supporters were singing "Inilah barisan kita" songs and the feeling was fantastic. We were singing and laughing and the walk towards the nomination hall was about 1 km . Thousands were marching along and the police stopped us just before the hall, only the person with a special tag are allowed to pass the barb wire into the nomination hall. When you place a roll of barb wire across the road and suddenly the entire crowd were forced to stop, imagine the chaos.
I personally think it was very in-efficient way and they never thought of the consequences. The march should be narrowed down much earlier so that the crowd knows that there were barb wires infront. Without warning, the front row were stopped and the people at the back came crashing unto them. Many people fell and got injured, Datuk Shafie, Datuk Samy, Datuk Ganesan and many more were injured. I nearly fell on the barb wire myself, luckily i was pulled by a man. It was simply a bad planning and a disaster.
Well, i thought the worst has passed but when the two sides were waiting for their respective candidates submit their nomination paper, the tension mounted outside. Both the PKR and BN were separated by about 20 meters with police and guards keeping the peace. All hell break loose when they started hurling words and soon, water bottles flying all over the place. It was a war zone for a short time, i was right in the middle of it and took some beating as well, in the name of election. A 500ml mineral water bottle, full with water is a very dangerous weapon and it hurts too, i got 2 bottles on my head for a start.The FRU marches in and still the fight went on. The sad part was, they took the fight into the mosque area and that should never, never had happened.
I decided to walk back to the MIC Election Center before more missiles were thrown at me and i believe the commotion stopped a few minutes later. Why people are so emotional, if they support someone, go vote for him and make the person win. Shouting and fighting doesn't solve anything, maybe they are having fun but on whose expense. This is a game for them and it's becoming a normal practice , i wonder who teaches them to do this?
Capt.Ragu (MIC Perling)
by S Pathmawathy
INTERVIEW Right-wing group PERKASA is not belligerent against non-Malays as its aim is to promote the empowerment of the Malay community, said BN’s Hulu Selangor candidate P Kamalanathan.
The 44-year-old public relations manager, whose task is to convince Hulu Selangor’s 34,020 – or 52.7 percent of – Malay voters of Hulu Selangor that he is their man in the upcoming by-election, said that PERKASA’s role is about “empowering” the Malay race and it does not trample on the rights of other races.
“PERKASA has its own role. It is strengthening its (Malay) race, its language and its religion, and we (MIC) are also doing the same by strengthening our race, religion and language,” he stressed.
“Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan (empower) my race and my language? Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan Tamil schools?” he asked.
Speaking to Malaysiakini at his home in Taman Garing, Kamalanathan said that despite championing one’s own ethnic group, it is crucial that economic growth and wealth is shared by all.
The MIC candidate, who is carrying the BN flag in the tussle with the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, is confident of gaining solid support from all communities with the help of its coalition partners – UMNO, MCA and Gerakan.
Asked about his strategy for winning back the support of Indian community which has turned its back on former incumbent G Palanivel in the 2008 general election, Kamalanathan said:
“We are never contented. Even if we have regain the Indian ground, we will continue to work. Gone are the days when we sat back and say they all will believe us. We are on our toes everyday.” Moreover, he reminded that the marginalised Indian community has been given “a lot of support” from Palanivel, but it is up to them to make use of it.
“We can only take the horse to water but we cannot force the horse to drink it. Sometimes opportunities don’t come rolling to your door, I am where I am today because I worked hard. Every Malaysian is successful today because they worked hard… we must believe in our abilities and we must have confidence as we must also be motivated and inspired to be successful,” he said.
‘Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid’
Kamalanathan, 44, who hails from neighbouring Rawang, also highlighted that his command of the Malay language has been praised by others to be better than by-election opponent Zaid Ibrahim’s.
“I read on Twitter, and one posting said that, ‘I’m surprised Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid…’ and this was not said by an Indian or Chinese but a Malay,” he said. Kamalanathan argued that he lives close enough to Hulu Selangor to be considered a local.
“Hulu Selangor is only a stone throw away from Rawang… I have lived in Rawang for 43 years and I have many relatives and friends from the constituency,” he said.
Taking a swipe at Zaid, who was formerly from Kota Bharu, the MIC national information chief said his advantage is that he understands the needs of the people that he has grown up with.
“Rawang is so much closer to Hulu Selangor, the nearest town is Sungai Choh, I have many friends whom I studied with – from Sungai Buaya, Sungai Gapi and Serendah because at that time everyone attended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Garing (a secondary school in Rawang),” he said.
“I know a lot of friends and family who live in Serendah and I have a lot linkages (so much so) during the durian season, I have a friend in Ladang Sungai Choh who owns an orchard and we would go there to have durians,” he added.
“I live nearby so I am able to convince and talk to the people on what I can do… I don’t want to know what Zaid can do, I don’t want to know what Pakatan is going do, and it is their right to do whatever they want.”
Kamalanathan was quick to add that he is a “team player”, unlike Zaid who left UMNO in 2008. “I will not abandon the ship I’m sailing, I will sink and swim with this party and with the people of Hulu Selangor. If there is a problem, I will find a solution within the system. I will not jump ship.”
Zaid, who was formerly the law minister and senator, had resigned from his post in protest to the arbitrary detention of Selangor executive councillor Teresa Kok, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng.
He was later sacked from UMNO for attending several opposition events. Last year, Zaid joined PKR, and has been entrusted with the task of drawing up Pakatan’s common policy framework.
Asked if winning the election would bring MIC back its former glory, Kamalanathan said: “MIC is not about Kamalanathan… MIC has more than 500,000 members throughout the country. Winning and losing an election is part of the process, and losing does not mean MIC has not done anything”.
He also said that he is confident that the party grassroots who were slightly disgruntled over the sidelining of G Palanivel, will eventually support him. “They will return to support me. Maybe it will take a day or two, but they will return. Plus, I will meet them after this,” he said.
Hulu Selangor a green wonderland
Besides vowing to win back the support of the people, Kamalanathan also spoke of his aspirations for the bucolic Hulu Selangor. “The environment, greenery and the coolness of Kuala Kubu Bahru is very peaceful and quiet. It gives you inspiration. I like Kuala Kubu Bahru,” he said.
One of his ambitious plans is to turn Hulu Selangor into an educational hub, which in turn, would transform the social economic woes in the area, he said.
“There is a lot of possibilities for educational institutions there… the prime minister and the deputy prime minister have made a decision to build a UiTM there. It is an indication of how serious we are…
“YBK (Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan) is working very hard, they have a piece of land and they want to build a university,” he said.
“They want to construct an educational city, and with that there will be new development there. Houses rental will go up, with this other institutions will come and livelihood can be uplifted and abandoned housing project can be revived,” he added energetically.
Satellite townships such as Bukit Beruntung, Bukit Sentosa, Sungai Cho, Sungai Buaya, Kampung Koskan, Serendah, Kerling, Kalompang, Batang Kali, Hulu Yam, Rasa and Pertak, all have its own unique selling point, he added.
“The basic necessities of the people who live there must be solve. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs says that the most important thing is a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear,” he said.
INTERVIEW Right-wing group PERKASA is not belligerent against non-Malays as its aim is to promote the empowerment of the Malay community, said BN’s Hulu Selangor candidate P Kamalanathan.
The 44-year-old public relations manager, whose task is to convince Hulu Selangor’s 34,020 – or 52.7 percent of – Malay voters of Hulu Selangor that he is their man in the upcoming by-election, said that PERKASA’s role is about “empowering” the Malay race and it does not trample on the rights of other races.
“PERKASA has its own role. It is strengthening its (Malay) race, its language and its religion, and we (MIC) are also doing the same by strengthening our race, religion and language,” he stressed.“Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan (empower) my race and my language? Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan Tamil schools?” he asked.
Speaking to Malaysiakini at his home in Taman Garing, Kamalanathan said that despite championing one’s own ethnic group, it is crucial that economic growth and wealth is shared by all.
The MIC candidate, who is carrying the BN flag in the tussle with the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, is confident of gaining solid support from all communities with the help of its coalition partners – UMNO, MCA and Gerakan.
Asked about his strategy for winning back the support of Indian community which has turned its back on former incumbent G Palanivel in the 2008 general election, Kamalanathan said:
“We are never contented. Even if we have regain the Indian ground, we will continue to work. Gone are the days when we sat back and say they all will believe us. We are on our toes everyday.” Moreover, he reminded that the marginalised Indian community has been given “a lot of support” from Palanivel, but it is up to them to make use of it.
“We can only take the horse to water but we cannot force the horse to drink it. Sometimes opportunities don’t come rolling to your door, I am where I am today because I worked hard. Every Malaysian is successful today because they worked hard… we must believe in our abilities and we must have confidence as we must also be motivated and inspired to be successful,” he said.
‘Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid’
Kamalanathan, 44, who hails from neighbouring Rawang, also highlighted that his command of the Malay language has been praised by others to be better than by-election opponent Zaid Ibrahim’s.
“I read on Twitter, and one posting said that, ‘I’m surprised Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid…’ and this was not said by an Indian or Chinese but a Malay,” he said. Kamalanathan argued that he lives close enough to Hulu Selangor to be considered a local.
“Hulu Selangor is only a stone throw away from Rawang… I have lived in Rawang for 43 years and I have many relatives and friends from the constituency,” he said.Taking a swipe at Zaid, who was formerly from Kota Bharu, the MIC national information chief said his advantage is that he understands the needs of the people that he has grown up with.
“Rawang is so much closer to Hulu Selangor, the nearest town is Sungai Choh, I have many friends whom I studied with – from Sungai Buaya, Sungai Gapi and Serendah because at that time everyone attended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Garing (a secondary school in Rawang),” he said.
“I know a lot of friends and family who live in Serendah and I have a lot linkages (so much so) during the durian season, I have a friend in Ladang Sungai Choh who owns an orchard and we would go there to have durians,” he added.“I live nearby so I am able to convince and talk to the people on what I can do… I don’t want to know what Zaid can do, I don’t want to know what Pakatan is going do, and it is their right to do whatever they want.”
Kamalanathan was quick to add that he is a “team player”, unlike Zaid who left UMNO in 2008. “I will not abandon the ship I’m sailing, I will sink and swim with this party and with the people of Hulu Selangor. If there is a problem, I will find a solution within the system. I will not jump ship.”Zaid, who was formerly the law minister and senator, had resigned from his post in protest to the arbitrary detention of Selangor executive councillor Teresa Kok, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng.
He was later sacked from UMNO for attending several opposition events. Last year, Zaid joined PKR, and has been entrusted with the task of drawing up Pakatan’s common policy framework.
Asked if winning the election would bring MIC back its former glory, Kamalanathan said: “MIC is not about Kamalanathan… MIC has more than 500,000 members throughout the country. Winning and losing an election is part of the process, and losing does not mean MIC has not done anything”.
He also said that he is confident that the party grassroots who were slightly disgruntled over the sidelining of G Palanivel, will eventually support him. “They will return to support me. Maybe it will take a day or two, but they will return. Plus, I will meet them after this,” he said.
Hulu Selangor a green wonderland
Besides vowing to win back the support of the people, Kamalanathan also spoke of his aspirations for the bucolic Hulu Selangor. “The environment, greenery and the coolness of Kuala Kubu Bahru is very peaceful and quiet. It gives you inspiration. I like Kuala Kubu Bahru,” he said.
One of his ambitious plans is to turn Hulu Selangor into an educational hub, which in turn, would transform the social economic woes in the area, he said.
“There is a lot of possibilities for educational institutions there… the prime minister and the deputy prime minister have made a decision to build a UiTM there. It is an indication of how serious we are…“YBK (Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan) is working very hard, they have a piece of land and they want to build a university,” he said.
“They want to construct an educational city, and with that there will be new development there. Houses rental will go up, with this other institutions will come and livelihood can be uplifted and abandoned housing project can be revived,” he added energetically.
Satellite townships such as Bukit Beruntung, Bukit Sentosa, Sungai Cho, Sungai Buaya, Kampung Koskan, Serendah, Kerling, Kalompang, Batang Kali, Hulu Yam, Rasa and Pertak, all have its own unique selling point, he added.
“The basic necessities of the people who live there must be solve. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs says that the most important thing is a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear,” he said.
KUALA KUBU BARU (April 19, 2010): Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election independent candidate S. Chandran today withdrew from the four-cornered fight and pledged to help Barisan Nasional (BN) win the seat.
When met at the Hulu Selangor district office here where the Election Commission (EC)'s operation centre was located, Chandran said he still loves BN, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin very much.
"I witnessed 10 elections in Hulu Selangor. I am always a BN supporter. Although there is some misunderstanding between MIC and me, I do not want to destroy the BN votes. I want BN to win.
"I have informed my supporters to support BN and they agreed that I am doing good for the people. Now that Chandran belongs to BN," he told reporters before submitting the withdrawal form to the EC.
Asked when he decided to withdraw, Chandran said he made up his mind last night after a discussion with his friends who also have experience in politics.
However, to a question, Chandran, who was Hulu Selangor MIC deputy chairman, stressed he would not support the BN candidate P. Kamalanathan, but only the BN coalition.
"He (Kamalanathan) can be a MIC or BN candidate. I do not care about the party, but only BN. I can give roughly about 10,000 votes to BN since I have withdrawn as a candidate," he added.
Chandran explained that he chose to contest in the first place because MIC did not field a better candidate than Kamalanathan.
"There are eligible persons in MIC especially the central working committee members who come from the grassroots level. (For example) MIC Youth deputy chief V. Mugilan who is also the Hulu Selangor youth chief but he was not fielded. Why? What's the reason? Who is Kamalanathan?" he asked.
"But I do not want to go against him," he said, adding that he was fine with his RM10,000 deposit as a candidate being forfeited.
On the possible sacking by MIC, Chandran said: "I am not worried that MIC will sack me or not... With my experience, I can help the people in Hulu Selangor.
"I can join other (component) parties. There is no problem for me," he said.
With Chandran leaving the battle, it is now among Kalamanathan, Pakatan Rakyat candidate Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim and independent candidate Johan Mohd Diah, who is an Umno Youth leader from Shah Alam, fighting for the seat, which was vacated by the death of Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad on March 25.
Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said Chandran would lose his deposit because he had missed the deadline to withdraw as candidate at 10am today. - theSun
Sunday, April 18, 2010
HULU SELANGOR, April 17 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties are confident that the coalition has made the right decision in picking MIC Information Chief P. Kamalanathan as the candidate in its quest to wrest back the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat.
MCA Deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the BN had a better chance judging from the huge turnout of about 10,000 highly-spirited BN supporters at today's nomination process.
"I am confident we will able to win this by-election. What we need to do now is to make sure we continue to receive a good support," he told reporters after the nomination process at Kuala Kubu Baharu Multipurpose Hall here today.
The MCA would go all out to support the BN candidate especially in all 13 new villages in the constituency, he said, adding that all MCA leaders had been instructed to concentrate on the constituency in the next seven campaigning days.
Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the spirit among BN machinery was high and that the selection of a new face as candidate augured well for them as it would give the coalition a fresh start.
"We will work closely with the BN machinery, particularly in solving issues and problems raised by the local population," he said.
Dr Koh also noted what he described as changes in terms of sentiment among the voters in favour of the BN this past few weeks, but said that the BN machinery would continue to work hard to win more support.
Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) president Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said with BN fielding a new candidate, it would make the party more appealing to the people.
"He (Kamalanathan) is our best choice and there is a lot of goodwill among the top BN leadership in reaching the decision to field him.
"I can see the mood among the people are much better now as compared to the last general election," he added.
MCA Deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the BN had a better chance judging from the huge turnout of about 10,000 highly-spirited BN supporters at today's nomination process.
"I am confident we will able to win this by-election. What we need to do now is to make sure we continue to receive a good support," he told reporters after the nomination process at Kuala Kubu Baharu Multipurpose Hall here today.
The MCA would go all out to support the BN candidate especially in all 13 new villages in the constituency, he said, adding that all MCA leaders had been instructed to concentrate on the constituency in the next seven campaigning days.
Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the spirit among BN machinery was high and that the selection of a new face as candidate augured well for them as it would give the coalition a fresh start.
"We will work closely with the BN machinery, particularly in solving issues and problems raised by the local population," he said.
Dr Koh also noted what he described as changes in terms of sentiment among the voters in favour of the BN this past few weeks, but said that the BN machinery would continue to work hard to win more support.
Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) president Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said with BN fielding a new candidate, it would make the party more appealing to the people.
"He (Kamalanathan) is our best choice and there is a lot of goodwill among the top BN leadership in reaching the decision to field him.
"I can see the mood among the people are much better now as compared to the last general election," he added.
HULU SELANGOR, April 18 (Bernama) -- Voters in Hulu Selangor, who will be choosing their new Member of Parliament on April 25, are now generally in favour of the Barisan Nasional (BN) compared to when the general election was held in 2008, said deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Muhyiddin, who is also BN deputy chairman and Umno deputy president, said their openness to hear out BN leaders on issues dear to them showed that they were willing to accept the ruling coalition.
"I hope this momentum can be sustained and strengthened further. We will step up our campaign activities for the remaining six days before polling begins," he told reporters after meeting the people of Hulu Yam Timur, here on Sunday.
The deputy prime minister also said the BN election machinery would not take things for granted but would go all out to woo voters in the constituency, which was a BN stronghold prior to the 2008 election.
Asked about allegations by the Opposition that the Election Commission (EC) had changed the polling stations of some 13,400 voters, Muhyiddin said the matter should be referred to the EC.
"I am not aware of this. Let the EC explain, but I do not think they would do this. The Opposition always like to make baseless accusations... this matter needs to be clarified by the EC," he said.
Asked about Opposition claims that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim would be accepted by Muslims in Hulu Selangor as compared to Muslims in Kota Baharu because they (Hulu Selangor Muslims) were more open minded, Muhyiddin said Muslims were the same anywhere.
"Their expectations are the same. I leave it to the (Muslim) voters to make their own judgement," he said.
Touching on the APCO issue, he said the government was not hiding anything and had clarified the matter a number of times.
"APCO is not an Israeli company..it is an international company that was hired to promote Malaysia. They are experts in the field and we pay them to promote our country.
"They are not involed in policy making. The Opposition-ruled states also use foreign companies to attract investment. This is a normal matter," he said.
He said the Opposition were resorting to accusing APCO as an Israeli entity because they saw the 1Malaysia slogan as a threat to their survival.
"Because the 1Malaysia concept has recieved all round support, they are trying all sorts of tricks to scuttle it. The 1Malaysia initiative introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is for the good of the country, not to be politicised," he said.
He said Hulu Selangor were sending positive signals and understood the approach taken by Najib unlike PKR where the leaders in it themselves had expressed disappointment in the party's top leadership.
"The feel good factor is beginning to be there, the slogan is not important. We cannot compare 1Malaysia with 1Israel. Because many Malaysians have adopted the slogan, the Opposition are starting to twist it around for political mileage," Muhyiddin added.
The Hulu Selangor by-election on April 25 is a four-cornered fight between the BN's P. Kamalanathan, the MIC Information Chief; Zaid, who was formely minister in the prime minister's department when he was in UMNO, and two independent candidates.
-- BERNAMA
Muhyiddin, who is also BN deputy chairman and Umno deputy president, said their openness to hear out BN leaders on issues dear to them showed that they were willing to accept the ruling coalition.
"I hope this momentum can be sustained and strengthened further. We will step up our campaign activities for the remaining six days before polling begins," he told reporters after meeting the people of Hulu Yam Timur, here on Sunday.
The deputy prime minister also said the BN election machinery would not take things for granted but would go all out to woo voters in the constituency, which was a BN stronghold prior to the 2008 election.
Asked about allegations by the Opposition that the Election Commission (EC) had changed the polling stations of some 13,400 voters, Muhyiddin said the matter should be referred to the EC.
"I am not aware of this. Let the EC explain, but I do not think they would do this. The Opposition always like to make baseless accusations... this matter needs to be clarified by the EC," he said.
Asked about Opposition claims that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim would be accepted by Muslims in Hulu Selangor as compared to Muslims in Kota Baharu because they (Hulu Selangor Muslims) were more open minded, Muhyiddin said Muslims were the same anywhere.
"Their expectations are the same. I leave it to the (Muslim) voters to make their own judgement," he said.
Touching on the APCO issue, he said the government was not hiding anything and had clarified the matter a number of times.
"APCO is not an Israeli company..it is an international company that was hired to promote Malaysia. They are experts in the field and we pay them to promote our country.
"They are not involed in policy making. The Opposition-ruled states also use foreign companies to attract investment. This is a normal matter," he said.
He said the Opposition were resorting to accusing APCO as an Israeli entity because they saw the 1Malaysia slogan as a threat to their survival.
"Because the 1Malaysia concept has recieved all round support, they are trying all sorts of tricks to scuttle it. The 1Malaysia initiative introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is for the good of the country, not to be politicised," he said.
He said Hulu Selangor were sending positive signals and understood the approach taken by Najib unlike PKR where the leaders in it themselves had expressed disappointment in the party's top leadership.
"The feel good factor is beginning to be there, the slogan is not important. We cannot compare 1Malaysia with 1Israel. Because many Malaysians have adopted the slogan, the Opposition are starting to twist it around for political mileage," Muhyiddin added.
The Hulu Selangor by-election on April 25 is a four-cornered fight between the BN's P. Kamalanathan, the MIC Information Chief; Zaid, who was formely minister in the prime minister's department when he was in UMNO, and two independent candidates.
-- BERNAMA
 P. Kamalanathan |
"I will listen to all your problems...please give me a chance to serve you," he told the crowd, about half of whom were women.
Accompanying him were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and senior BN leaders, all of whom had adjourned there after Kamalanathan had filed his nomination at the adjacent nomination centre.
Kamalanathan started by introducing himself and his wife S. Shobana, 38, a senior public relations manager with a private medical centre who has taken a nine-day leave to help her husband in his campaign. He spoke for about 10 minutes.
"I am a local candidate...so I will not run away to KL or Kota Baru," he said, taking a swipe at his PKR rival Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim who hails from Kota Baru, Kelantan.
"I am here to represent Barisan Nasional and the ideals of 1Malaysia concept. I don't want to just ask you for your votes. I want to be your friend as well for a long time, not for these eight days only."
Those present, especially the elderly, gave Kamalanathan a rousing applause.
A resident, Rahmah Osman, 68, gave her appraisal: "He speaks very good Malay and his words are very convincing....and he is very humble. I would like him to be the MP here."
Another Hulu Selangor resident, Mohd Abdullah, 79, said he has never seen Kamalanathan before but after hearing his speech, he was convinced the candidate is capable of winning.
"I have lived here for more than 30 years and I have seen many politicians come and go...and I feel good to see a fresh face, with a lot of new ideas.
"I can tell by the way he speaks that he can go far," added Mohd Abdullah.
Bernama quoted Kamalanathan's wife as describing him as "clean and hard working".
"He is brilliant, very humble and simple. He is very down to earth," she said.
Friday, April 16, 2010
"Thanks you for giving me the opportunity to work with you"
P.KAMALANATHAN A/L P.PANCHANATHAN
PJK.,APR., MIPR
B.COMM. (Public Relations)
Chief Information Officer
Malaysian Indian Congress
72 Taman Garing
48000 Rawang
Selangor Darul Ehsan
6012-330 2079
kamalanathanp@gmail.com
www.pkamalanathan.com
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