April Fools Night

Well, tomorrow's the day when the voters decide in the three by-elections in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai. These two hills and a river will be a defining point in Malaysian politics. Which party will prevail?

In Bukit Gantang (Perak), it will be the Pasti Islam (PAS) going head-to-head against the Barisan Nasional. In Bukit Selambau (Kedah), the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) will meet the Barisan Nasional and a bevy of independents. And in Batang Ai (Sarawak), the Barisan Nasional (BN) will be up against the PKR.

So what do I think about the campaigns so far? I think it's the most restrictive that I've seen so far. All sorts of rules have been drawn up to favour the BN. Cannot do this, cannot do that. Cannot raise this issue, cannot raise that issue.

It's also very confusing. Depending on whom you want to believe, some say the Pakatan Rakyat (PKR, DAP, PAS) coalition will carry the day in the two hills while BN will rule the river. The prediction is that all three contests will be quite close.

But one thing has become very clear to me. At Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau, it seems that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has been courting the non-Malays very successfully. They will vote for the PR. However, the support of the Malays is not clear enough. In my opinion, the PR campaign has become too focussed on the non-Malays to the extent that the Malay voters are fearing that they have been sidelined during this campaign. I hope that I'm wrong but am I detecting some backlash against the PR from the Malays themselves? It will be fatal and a great setback to all that PR stands for if this happens.

Then we'll know for sure what happens on April Fools Night tomorrow.