More police outposts and tipping scales favour BN

By B Nantha Kumar - Free Malaysia Today

HULU SELANGOR: Sixteen police outposts (pondoks) have sprung up overnight in all 16 Orang Asli settlements in Hulu Selangor in view of the parliamentary constituency by-election on April 25.
Selangor PKR information chief Tan Yee Kew, in questioning the necessity of these, accused the police of  threatening the harmony of the villages.

“It’s intimidation… by putting up the police pondoks, they (BN) are instilling fear among the Orang Asli, who by nature don’t like any form of confrontation.

“It a threat to the harmony in the village,” she said.

She said her side would be meeting with the police soon to clarify the necessity of the structures.

Earlier this week Orang Asli representative Yusri Ahon alleged that their village chieftain Alam Supah had been threatened by officers from the Election Commission and the Orang Asli Affairs department against allowing Pakatan Rakyat volunteers into their villages.

“They have warned him not to allow Pakatan election volunteers into the Orang Asli villages to talk about land and rights,” Yusri had said.

Cash for votes
Meanwhile street sources yesterday said they were being promised RM200 – RM300 for a vote.

“They are telling us that they will deliver RM200 to our house after we cast our votes,” said a voter, whom FMT caught just as he walked out of the voter-checking station in Kuala Kubu Baru.

In this race to wrest the Hulu Selangor seat which fell vacant following the death of incumbent PKR’s Zainal Abidin Ahmad on March 25 every vote is worthy of attention, especially since BN’s four-term candidate G Palanivel lost Zainal by a flimsy 198-vote majority .

As of yesterday BN was trailing PKR at 40:60, according to Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department T Murugiah.

But the scales, he said, were beginning to tip in favour of BN candidate P Kamalanathan, who is seen as more forthcoming and accessible to the people as compared to his rival Zaid Ibrahim from PKR.

“Firstly you have to look at the candidates and their personalities… This is not Kuala Lumpur or Damansara. This is Hulu Selangor.

“Here the issues are less about policies but more situational, poor local council service, unemployment, money aid, issues.

“The voters come to you with a problem, you solve it, you have their vote,” said the Murugiah who heads the Public Complaints Depart in the PM’s office.

PR skills to charm voters

Coincidentally yesterday evening candidate Kamalanathan had a rude shock when an angry housewife spewed her frustration over the district official’s disregard of her request for welfare aid.

““Why would we vote for BN?” lashed Monan Mat Noor, 51, adding “We have been living here for 16 years and we still have nothing."

Using his best public relations skill, Kamalanathan pacified her before pledging to resolve her request for an additional RM300 welfare aid for her rubber tapper husband and their 10 children.

A calmer Monan from Ladang Kerling Batu Dua later told FMT: “My children keep telling me that there is no use for us to vote for any political party. I almost agreed to that but this time around we will vote for BN," she said.

Zaid meanwhile in his rounds in the constituency has been explaining about his main focus for the area – solving the land problems of the Felda settlers, creating jobs for the youths so that the constituency can be economically developed and addressing the woes of the estates.

The PKR-led state government also announced yesterday that from May 1, owners of unoccupied shophouses and business premises in Hulu Selangor could apply to the local authority to not pay quit rent until their properties generated income for them.