PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not oblivious to the fact that
his frequent visits to Selangor is making many in Barisan Nasional in other
states envious.
But he has to do what he must, that is, reach out and win the hearts and
minds of the state's 1.9 million voters before they go to the polls.
His mission is clear. As head of the federal BN and Selangor BN, his
focus is to end the opposition's rule in the state.
He has made numerous visits to urban and rural areas, touching base with
people from all walks of life, while warning party members to unite and work
hard, lest the Parti Keadilan Rakyat-led state government remains in power
after the next general election.
BN needs to win nine more seats, on top of its current 20, to recapture
the the 56-seat legislative assembly.
Selangor BN, to its credit, must have done something right to exorcise
the ghost of the 2008 polls for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to
tell Selangor Pakatan Rakyat supporters last month to launch a war against
Umno-BN with the elections around the corner.
That was a day after Najib said BN could take back Selangor because
public feedback had been encouraging. Anwar had dismissed BN as a threat in
Selangor, citing the opposition's supposedly successful campaign.
Selangor BN coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed and his team
understand their position as underdog in the polls.
"We are not yet there, although there has been a positive response
since we went on an aggressive campaign to serve the people. We have to stay
committed and focused until polling day."
Meetings, going through situation reports and planning take a lot of
Zin's time. The Selangor BN war room on the ninth floor of the state Umno
building in Shah Alam has become his second home. When he arrived at the building
on Wednesday, he was wearing the blue BN shirt and sandals, ready to work till
late.
Selangor BN has been on a programme to repair perceptions since 2010
when it organised a BN convention that identified factors that led to the
Umno-led BN state government losing its grip on power in 2008.
Umno and its partners in BN have not backtracked on their
quest to win over those who had turned away from BN in 2008.
Conflicts between BN parties and the trumping of public concerns
by personal interests have been reduced.
Information technology is being used and the concerns of young voters,
who constitute close to 35 per cent of the Selangor electorate, are being
addressed.
Selangor BN does not lack good ideas to win back the trust of
the people. It is using innovative approaches to win
over the state’s 5.5 million population, particularly the young working
class who spurned BN.
Pakar, which is Selangor BN’s new service centre, is
the latest approach adopted to attend to complaints, including on elected
representatives or waste management, and enquiries on BN programmes.
A voters’ communication, information and management centre, which has
been in operation for less than a week and has not been formally launched,
takes calls from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Friday. Callers can leave a
message after office hours.
It has become an instant hit, even receiving enquiries from Perak
and Penang on 1-300-22-2626.
The 20 people manning the centre, including Mandarin and Tamil speakers,
are bracing for more calls when Najib officially opens it on May
10.
Analyses from BN indicated returning support largely
because of the failure of the state government to fulfil election
pledges.
There are people who feel they had been short-changed and they make up
the pool of voters that BN is wooing.
The 20 per cent reduction in assessment, a business premises tax
reduction of 10 per cent and free health services for senior citizens are among
the unfulfilled pledges.
The people of Selangor, BN leaders said, were receptive to the Najib
brand but they knew that his immense personal appeal alone would not be
enough to seal the vote for BN.
The state government may have flaws, but the mistakes of the past
government had dented the coalition’s image.
Only Selangor BN’s ability to offer a better alternative, in terms of
managing the state, will convince voters to return power to BN.
