Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Chinese are upset. Will UMNO makes amends?
The Ijok by-elections results are in and government is patting itself on the back on a job well-done. Whether the cry of outrage from the opposition about alleged ballot fraud is factual or not is largely irrelevant. The results are irreversible and indeed, this loss has been deemed by some triumphant Barisan Nasional politicians as a death-knell for Malaysia’s opposition.
But a closer look at the Ijok election results show a massive shift in the voting patterns of the Chinese, who have in recent years, been disturbed by adverse political development within UMNO. The MCA president himself Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting himself has admitted that his party need to work harder to bring the Chinese back into the “fold”. Ong should be worried. Rural Chinese voters in an isolated region of Selangor, have sent a signal to the center that they are unhappy with larger national issues seen to be detrimental to the community. The old promise of local infrastructure development has proven ineffective with the community, perceived by many to be shielded from any trickle-down effect due to the keris waving antics of certain UMNO leaders last September. This despite the millions of Ringgit poured into Ijok in a few short weeks!
The Chinese needs to be convinced otherwise. That means snap general elections are unlikely to be held anytime soon. UMNO will have to be nice to the Chinese from now on, perhaps to the chagrin of some fire-brand politicians. In many constituencies, Chinese voters hold the key between victory and defeat. So UMNO need to re-evaluate its strategy and soberly recognize that race-baiting tactics could backfire badly. The government has to hold general elections by February 2009. The clock is ticking. And the Chinese are waiting for UMNO to make the first move. ¶ 10:58 PM
But a closer look at the Ijok election results show a massive shift in the voting patterns of the Chinese, who have in recent years, been disturbed by adverse political development within UMNO. The MCA president himself Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting himself has admitted that his party need to work harder to bring the Chinese back into the “fold”. Ong should be worried. Rural Chinese voters in an isolated region of Selangor, have sent a signal to the center that they are unhappy with larger national issues seen to be detrimental to the community. The old promise of local infrastructure development has proven ineffective with the community, perceived by many to be shielded from any trickle-down effect due to the keris waving antics of certain UMNO leaders last September. This despite the millions of Ringgit poured into Ijok in a few short weeks!
The Chinese needs to be convinced otherwise. That means snap general elections are unlikely to be held anytime soon. UMNO will have to be nice to the Chinese from now on, perhaps to the chagrin of some fire-brand politicians. In many constituencies, Chinese voters hold the key between victory and defeat. So UMNO need to re-evaluate its strategy and soberly recognize that race-baiting tactics could backfire badly. The government has to hold general elections by February 2009. The clock is ticking. And the Chinese are waiting for UMNO to make the first move. ¶ 10:58 PM
