BN, bruised by a series of losses at the ballot box, faces a critical test in a by-election next weekend seen as a referendum on its reform plans.A win for BN would be seen as an indication that Prime Minister Premier Najib Razak's reforms, including plans to dismantle race-based policies for Muslim Malays, have resonated with the public.
The opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance, led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who is on trial for sodomy, is also keen to show that a bout of political infighting and defections have not damaged its credibility. The opposition has won seven out of nine by-elections since 2008 elections that humbled the long-serving coalition, which lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority in its worst results in half a century.
The semi-rural constituency of Hulu Selangor in central Selangor state is the latest battlefield for the two sides competing for the support of voters including civil servants, rubber farmers and traders. Barisan Nasional candidate P Kamalanathan will take on former cabinet minister Zaid Ibrahim who is standing for the opposition in the hotly contested April 25 ballot.
The vote, triggered by the death of the opposition incumbent who won it narrowly in 2008, comes amid talk that the next national polls could be held much earlier than the deadline of 2013.
"Although Pakatan won this seat in 2008, this is a BN stronghold and given the huge amount of money and election machinery the government has brought to bear, the opposition are the underdogs," said Tian Chua, election strategist for Anwar's (right) PKR.
"If the government fails to win this seat after throwing in even the kitchen sink, I don't know how Najib can hope to win the next general elections," he told AFP.
The opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance, led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who is on trial for sodomy, is also keen to show that a bout of political infighting and defections have not damaged its credibility. The opposition has won seven out of nine by-elections since 2008 elections that humbled the long-serving coalition, which lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority in its worst results in half a century.
The semi-rural constituency of Hulu Selangor in central Selangor state is the latest battlefield for the two sides competing for the support of voters including civil servants, rubber farmers and traders. Barisan Nasional candidate P Kamalanathan will take on former cabinet minister Zaid Ibrahim who is standing for the opposition in the hotly contested April 25 ballot.
The vote, triggered by the death of the opposition incumbent who won it narrowly in 2008, comes amid talk that the next national polls could be held much earlier than the deadline of 2013.
"Although Pakatan won this seat in 2008, this is a BN stronghold and given the huge amount of money and election machinery the government has brought to bear, the opposition are the underdogs," said Tian Chua, election strategist for Anwar's (right) PKR.
"If the government fails to win this seat after throwing in even the kitchen sink, I don't know how Najib can hope to win the next general elections," he told AFP.
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