Friday 29 June 2012

CHINESE VOTERS ARE KINGMAKERS FOR GE13




By : SHANNON TEOH

KUALA LUMPUR : Chinese voters will decide who forms the government after the general election which must be held within a year as the Malays are divided among three parties, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

The long-serving former prime minister, whose last election victory in 1999 was widely credited to the swing of Chinese voters to Barisan Nasional (BN), said this forced the opposition PKR, PAS as well as his Umno to cede to Chinese demands.

“They never dreamt that they would be split as they are today. The majority has split itself into three and become the minority. These three small Malay parties need the support of the Chinese in order to win the elections. Whichever party gets the support of the Chinese will win the elections.

“The fact is today all three Malay parties are trying to butter the Chinese electorate. So they become racial and cater to racial demands,” Dr Mahathir (picture), who is still widely influential in Umno despite retiring from active politics nine years ago, told a forum on politics and business today.

Malaysia’s fourth prime minister said he was known as “Mr Malay Ultra” following the 1969 general election which precipitated the country’s worst race riots with up to thousands slain in street clashes.

He won five elections with a two-thirds majority in Parliament after taking power in 1981, including the 1999 polls which followed the controversial sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister, an episode that split the Malay vote and threatened to derail his leadership.

Dr Mahathir said the fact that Chinese supported him in 1999, to the point where DAP stalwarts Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh failed to be elected as MPs, “shows the Chinese are not going to vote for their own people if they think they can benefit.”

“So the government must show that even though they look after the welfare of Malays, they do not forget the welfare of others.

“Towards the end of my time as prime minister, I got a lot of support from non-Malays and they were the ones who determined that we had a strong government despite the loss of faith among the Malays,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also said “if Malays are split into three... for your own sake, the non-Malays must support a party that can deliver, and of course the party that can deliver is BN.”

Chinese voters stayed with the ruling coalition in 2004 before disenchantment with Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who succeeded Dr Mahathir in 2003, saw them voting for opposition parties in 2008, with analysts estimating that at least 70 per cent still back Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Dr Mahathir also said today the 13th general election would centre on race as Malaysia has become more racist than ever, putting more pressure on the BN administration which was weak after failing to secure a two-thirds majority in 2008.

“In this country, we are very racist, even more than before. The next election is going to be about race. Who gives what, who gets what based on race. When the government is weak, it caters to demands which are not going to be good for the country in the long run,” he said.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak took power in April 2009, a year after Abdullah led the ruling BN to its worst-ever electoral performance, ceding 82 federal seats and five state governments.

Najib took over from Abdullah ostensibly to improve on BN’s performance in the next general election and observers believe he requires an improvement on the 140 federal seats won and to regain some of the states lost to be assured of remaining in power. (TMI)

18 comments:

  1. sokongan pengundi cina amat penting dalam menentukan keputusan PRU.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jadi golongan ini harus diberi perhatian.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Undian semua kaum penting untuk menentukan nasib kerajaan. mana2 kaum tidak patut dipinggirkan dan perlu diberi layanan yang sama rata.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jangan saja PATI yang jadi kingmakers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dr Mahathir always uses the race card in politics, by saying that the Chinese are Kingmakers, he is trying to stir up the racial hatred among the voters.

    http://sabah-go-green.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. The voters shouldn't be easily affected by these sort of statements.

    http://sabah-go-green.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rakyat should continue to support the Barisan Nasional government. BN has proven to be a government that cares for people and has an outstanding administrative record.

      Delete
  7. the BN concept of serving the people. The elected representatives of BN will always work hard to serve the people because they know they have been voted by the people and so it is their responsibility to serve them

    ReplyDelete
  8. Semua undian yang ada sangatlah memberikan makna dan penting.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Every race get own choice. So is to important to every party It does not matter govt or opposition this voter so important for them. So do the best for them.

    ReplyDelete
  10. mana kaum yang paling besar di negara ini, itulah yang akan akan menjadi kingmakers pada PRU nanti..

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chinese youth support for the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government has now surpassed 50 per cent, as compared to the last general election.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the improving support of Chinese youths could be seen through group response to major youth programmes, such as the 'One Million Youth Gathering' in Putrajaya last month.

    ReplyDelete
  13. "In 2008, there was a slight decline in support over several sentiments not favouring us.

    ReplyDelete
  14. "Nonetheless, we are confident the changes taking place now, have led Chinese youths to understand the real issues in the national political landscape," he added.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ahmad Shabery said this at a media conference after presenting contributions to 200 Chinese recipients in the Kemaman parliamentary constituency near Jalan Jaka here yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The minister said the Chinese community should also appreciate the concerns of the government on their welfare, irrespective of their cultural and religious differences.

    ReplyDelete
  17. For example, he said, the construction of the Kemaman Chinese Community Hall in Kampung Bukit Mak Dayang, costing RM3.8 million, was proof that the government provided facilities for them.

    ReplyDelete