“I have never voted in my life…I have always known and understood that the idiots are in a majority so it’s certain they will win.“
Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French novelist
NOMINATION day for the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election is only 10 days away (April 27) but there is very little excitement generated around it.
Indeed, there is hardly any public interest in the by-election; it seems that only politicians and the contesting parties are talking about it.
The public does not discuss it. Honestly, not a single soul whom I came across these past weeks, including my colleagues in the media, have mentioned it, not even in passing.
Malaysians in general are jaded with elections and politics as a whole. Many other things are happening which the people are more concerned about. The focus is just not there for elections.
Typically, by-elections do not have the same scale or impact as a national election and they do not generate as much public interest as a broader political event.
Furthermore, by-elections may not always result in a significant change in the balance of power, especially if the seat is in a stronghold area for a particular political party. This is the case in the KKB by-election.
That Pakatan Harapan (PH) already has a comfortable majority in the Selangor government is yet another factor which probably leads to less excitement or attention surrounding the coming by-election.
Even a defeat in Kuala Kubu Baharu will not change the political equation in the state government, except for a little dent perhaps to the ego of PH leaders in Selangor.
The KKB state seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent, DAP’s Lee Kee Hiong, on March 21.
Lee, 58, who had been the KKB assemblyperson under the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency since 2013, died after battling cancer in the past few years.
DAP will surely want to defend the seat and rightly, the PH leadership has given the green light for the party to nominate its candidate.
Not surprisingly, MCA has also expressed its interest in contesting the KKB seat. My view is that it should as it has nothing to lose, even if it has nothing to gain too (as a defeat looks imminent).
As it stands today, being a BN component party while the coalition is part of the unity government, MCA is “neither here nor there”. Even its president, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, was not included in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s cabinet.
I doubt MCA stands a chance of winning if it decides to join the fray. However, what is there to stop the party from contesting except for its awkward loyalty and obligation to the BN coalition?
There is no need for DAP and MCA to act lovey-dovey now that both parties are part of the government. For decades, MCA and DAP have been known as sworn adversaries, fighting tooth and nail for the Chinese votes.
There is still no love lost between them. So, no necessity to put on an act or wear that pretentious smile. Why? DAP head honcho Anthony Loke has stated “I don’t dislike BN, I dislike MCA” on national TV recently.
So, there you go. If the DAP top gun is prepared to shoot down MCA in such a disrespectful manner, what is there to stop MCA from retaliating in a way they think fit? I would if I were a MCA leader.
For the KKB seat, DAP has to be realistic too — there is no easy ride ahead. No, not after the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition had made inroads in the Malay constituencies in the 15th general election in 2022 and the six state elections, including Selangor, last August.
Kuala Kubu Baharu is the only state seat won by PH/DAP in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency. In GE15, PH lost Hulu Selangor to PN in a fierce six-way contest. In last year’s state polls, PN also won Batang Kali, the other state seat in Hulu Selangor.
By polling night, May 11, the by-election result is anyone’s guess. PH/DAP as the incumbent has the upper hand and also being at the helm of the state government.
However, critics of the government are saying that the KKB by-election is already giving the jitters to PH/DAP and it is going to be tough for them to defend the seat.
This was blamed on PH’s struggles to explain its poor performance and lack of reforms for the last 18 months since it was elected in November 2022.
The KKB constituency is quite reflective of the racial demographics of the country and has about 50 per cent Malays, 30 per cent Chinese and Indians make up about 20 per cent.
One thing is clear — we can expect the battle to be between PH and PN although a multi-cornered contest is expected as many wannabe parties and politicians are also itching to try their luck at the polls.
But there can only be one winner and it’s a toss-up between a lacklustre young government and a racial, religious-centric opposition coalition.
Thankfully, this is only a by-election and a contest for only a single state seat. It will not affect the Selangor government in any major way.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
