A tale of two campaigns
THE end-lot terrace house near Pearl Avenue in Sungai
Chua, which is MCA's main operations centre for the Kajang by-election,
is a hive of activity from early morning till late night for the past
weeks.
Yesterday, election workers, many in their early 20s, were seen
arranging posters and party flags while others were briefing party
members in the living room, which had been turned into a makeshift
conference hall.
On the wall outside, there were two buntings which have no direct political element, capable perhaps of attracting the immediate attention of visitors. One promotes an anti-dengue campaign while the other offers of free medical check-ups.
At one corner of the porch, young party workers man a public services and complaints booth.
Every few minutes, residents, many of whom are elderly, turn up to ask for help in matters ranging from clogged drains to loss of land title documents.
The workers record the complaints before channelling them to party officials for action.
Barisan Nasional candidate and MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was, meanwhile, busy making her rounds in Kajang.
Early yesterday morning, she had a walkabout at Pasar Pagi in Taman Ceras Mas, followed by an appearance at the education and career fair at Kompleks Metro Point. Later in the evening till late at night, she had meet-the-people sessions at several locations in Kajang.
It is a typical MCA style of campaigning -- low key and down to earth with emphasis given to providing services for the people and keeping it all very community-oriented.
Chew's daily schedule mostly consists of visits to public places and functions in the daytime, and meeting voters in small groups in the evening.
Not known for giving fiery speeches, she is calm and collected when she explains to those present at her meet-the-people functions about her plans if elected.
She may not have the eloquence of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR's candidate, but Chew holds the advantage when it comes to offering sensible touches to the campaign which is hotting up as nomination day on March 11 draws near.
Perhaps her lack of aggressive posturing may even turn out to be the crucial ingredient, which could possibly turn the tide come polling day on March 23.
Still, the underdog tag worn by Chew and the rest of the BN campaign crew seems to be obvious considering PKR's intense activities in Kajang since day one.
Anwar, on the other hand, has obviously been preparing for the engineered by-election for quite some time as his party workers appeared to be well coordinated, down to the minutest details on how to carry out their campaign.
Operating from a four-storey building in Sungai Sekamat, they appeared confident, particularly in winning an overwhelming bulk of votes from Kajang's Chinese voters in a repeat of the outcome of the 13th General Election in May last year.
PKR won the Kajang state constituency of more than 38,000 voters in that election by an almost 7,000-vote majority.
Political observers estimated that up to 90 per cent of the Chinese voters in Kajang had given their support to PKR. Malays make up 48 per cent of the voters; Chinese, 40 per cent; Indians, 10 per cent; and others about one per cent.
Anwar has, so far, been obvious about his campaign strategy; he is going all out for the Malay votes, believing that votes of the Chinese community are already in his pocket.
Most of his scheduled ceramah, all the way to nomination day, are concentrated in Malay areas, where they draw a few hundred strong crowd per night.
PKR's campaign in areas with a sizeable Chinese community has, so far, been led by its vice-president, Tian Chua, during the day.
Anwar would, on most days, only turn up later in the evening, first for maghrib prayers at one of the mosques or surau in areas where there is a concentration of Malay voters, before proceeding to another venue nearby for his ceramah.
While Chew may talk about improving healthcare services, traffic flow and basic needs of Kajang folk, the opposition leader mainly focuses on accusing the BN government of being responsible for all the problems afflicting Malaysian society.
It is a total contrast between the two potential candidates in a contest, which could be dubbed David versus Goliath.
The outcome, which will have far-reaching consequences, especially for Selangor, could, however, still go either way, depending on what the folk of Kajang want -- a good service-oriented wakil rakyat with a track record of hard work in her previous constituency in Petaling Jaya Utara, or a smooth-talking populist leader who fashions himself as the country's alternative prime minister.
On the wall outside, there were two buntings which have no direct political element, capable perhaps of attracting the immediate attention of visitors. One promotes an anti-dengue campaign while the other offers of free medical check-ups.
At one corner of the porch, young party workers man a public services and complaints booth.
Every few minutes, residents, many of whom are elderly, turn up to ask for help in matters ranging from clogged drains to loss of land title documents.
The workers record the complaints before channelling them to party officials for action.
Barisan Nasional candidate and MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was, meanwhile, busy making her rounds in Kajang.
Early yesterday morning, she had a walkabout at Pasar Pagi in Taman Ceras Mas, followed by an appearance at the education and career fair at Kompleks Metro Point. Later in the evening till late at night, she had meet-the-people sessions at several locations in Kajang.
It is a typical MCA style of campaigning -- low key and down to earth with emphasis given to providing services for the people and keeping it all very community-oriented.
Chew's daily schedule mostly consists of visits to public places and functions in the daytime, and meeting voters in small groups in the evening.
Not known for giving fiery speeches, she is calm and collected when she explains to those present at her meet-the-people functions about her plans if elected.
She may not have the eloquence of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR's candidate, but Chew holds the advantage when it comes to offering sensible touches to the campaign which is hotting up as nomination day on March 11 draws near.
Perhaps her lack of aggressive posturing may even turn out to be the crucial ingredient, which could possibly turn the tide come polling day on March 23.
Still, the underdog tag worn by Chew and the rest of the BN campaign crew seems to be obvious considering PKR's intense activities in Kajang since day one.
Anwar, on the other hand, has obviously been preparing for the engineered by-election for quite some time as his party workers appeared to be well coordinated, down to the minutest details on how to carry out their campaign.
Operating from a four-storey building in Sungai Sekamat, they appeared confident, particularly in winning an overwhelming bulk of votes from Kajang's Chinese voters in a repeat of the outcome of the 13th General Election in May last year.
PKR won the Kajang state constituency of more than 38,000 voters in that election by an almost 7,000-vote majority.
Political observers estimated that up to 90 per cent of the Chinese voters in Kajang had given their support to PKR. Malays make up 48 per cent of the voters; Chinese, 40 per cent; Indians, 10 per cent; and others about one per cent.
Anwar has, so far, been obvious about his campaign strategy; he is going all out for the Malay votes, believing that votes of the Chinese community are already in his pocket.
Most of his scheduled ceramah, all the way to nomination day, are concentrated in Malay areas, where they draw a few hundred strong crowd per night.
PKR's campaign in areas with a sizeable Chinese community has, so far, been led by its vice-president, Tian Chua, during the day.
Anwar would, on most days, only turn up later in the evening, first for maghrib prayers at one of the mosques or surau in areas where there is a concentration of Malay voters, before proceeding to another venue nearby for his ceramah.
While Chew may talk about improving healthcare services, traffic flow and basic needs of Kajang folk, the opposition leader mainly focuses on accusing the BN government of being responsible for all the problems afflicting Malaysian society.
It is a total contrast between the two potential candidates in a contest, which could be dubbed David versus Goliath.
The outcome, which will have far-reaching consequences, especially for Selangor, could, however, still go either way, depending on what the folk of Kajang want -- a good service-oriented wakil rakyat with a track record of hard work in her previous constituency in Petaling Jaya Utara, or a smooth-talking populist leader who fashions himself as the country's alternative prime minister.
Read more: A tale of two campaigns - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/a-tale-of-two-campaigns-1.501764#ixzz2vKDtGlnc
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