Wednesday, April 21, 2010
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.
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