Saturday January 26, 2013

It’s not game over yet

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

MIRI: It is not game over yet for SUPP or the Barisan Nasional Federal Government despite all the predictions by the prophets of doom that the 13th general election would see the ruling coalition’s component parties suffering severe defeats.

SUPP president Datuk Seri Peter Chin yesterday said the analysis of the BN was that not only was it not yet over, SUPP and the BN might even pull a surprise and do better in hot constituencies than predicted.

He told The Star yesterday that Barisan saw positive indications that there were more voters who saw the good things that the Najib administration had brought about.

Chin, who is Miri MP and Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, said in the seven parliamentary constituencies where SUPP would contest, there were still high hopes of securing a victory against the Opposition.

According to him, Barisan Nasional parties were not going to achieve landslide victories, that’s for sure, but there were indications that they would do better than predicted, even in urban constituencies.

He saw many positive signs that the many measures implemented by the Najib administration to transform the standard of life of the people were bearing results.

“Of course there are people who say a lot of negative things about the BN, but there are also a lot of people who say that the Prime Minister’s efforts to improve the Government administration is starting to bear fruits at the grassroots level,” he said.

He insisted that what happened during the general election in 2008 and the state election in 2011 (when the Opposition sprang many surprise victories) could not be taken as indicators of what would come in the coming general election.

“We can see good signs that the sentiments of the voters are no longer as anti-BN as before, even in the urban constituencies. Even SUPP had increasingly positive reception to its efforts to serve the people better,” he said when interviewed after presenting the Government’s RM100 student aid at SMK St Joseph Miri.

For constituencies like Miri and Sibu where the contests are expected to be tense, it was also not conclusive yet that SUPP would be beaten by the Opposition, he said.

The conditions on the ground today, with regard to the perception of voters towards SUPP, had changed a lot, he noted.

He said he saw much better ground conditions that would favour SUPP.

Pointing to Miri where SUPP lost two state constituencies to DAP in the 2011 state election, he felt positive that the pattern of voting could turn in favour of SUPP this parliamentary elections.

“The Najib administration has done enough to secure the support of the majority of urban constituents,” he stressed.

During his speech at the school, Chin said the Government was committed to creating a better life for the people, and in its quest to achieve this, it had included the very young, including students.

He disclosed that the RM100 aid was being given to 5.4 million students nationwide, with more than 45,000 in Miri Division alone.

Earlier, in another function with Sarawak Rangers, Chin also urged them to continue placing their faith in the Government that had been taking care of the welfare and well-being of the people through so many initiatives such as the financial aid programmes.

News

Saturday January 26, 2013

It’s not game over yet

By STEPHEN THEN stephenthen@thestar.com.my

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my