Ijok - candidates' plus & minuses

Some visitors (presumably PKR people or supporters) are angry with me for posting stuff like PKR - 'losing before winning', or 'winning before losing'?, though they were quite happy (or at least in silent consent or tolerance) when I whacked the BN people.

Mind you, they are not as virulently vitriolic as some at malaysiakini who have been tearing into me since I wrote a letter to rebut one part of Manjit Bhatia's article in malaysiakini which had lambasted the Chinese and Indians for not having the guts to be more visibly or even physically ‘committed’ to opposition politics.

I welcome those opposing opinions (in one case, a diatribe). I responded to their mauling of me (uhhh, Maidin, a little to the left please … uhhh, that’s it) in my follow-up letter to the online news portal.

Strangely enough (or should it be), it’s all about our favourite topic, ‘race’ and racial issues, with some people who have been concerned about and exploited the race factor claiming they’re above it. For example, there have been letters and comments criticising Indians members of PKR (or political observers) for turning the PKR candidate for the Ijok by-election into an issue of race.

Mind you, I was not spared as well though I am just an ikan bilis (small fry) of no significance in the general scheme of things.

OK, let's leave the issue of ‘race’ out of a constituency that’s split roughly 50:30:20 - see, just arithmetical ratio and no mention of the ‘R’ word ;-)

On the BN side, the plus and minuses:

Plus (+)
- candidate is local boy made good
- humble beginnings (rubber tapper parents), blooming like a Chinese lotus by raising itself out of the muddy waters of his early years
- still politically untainted
- hugh BN resources behind him (money, government apparatus, media - yes, dodgy stuff but cold reality)
- big guns with cohorts in relentless campaigning, with (shameless) pork barrelling (of public money) to sweeten and motivate the voters
- some parts of electorate can’t tell difference between ruling party and government

Minuses (-)
- inexperienced, perhaps too young in some's eyes
- BN not popular in some sectors
- predecessor’s lacklustre performance (big problem here - the late bloke had his 4000 winning majority slashed to only one grand in last election)
- internal component party’s strife (sabotage?)
- unknown impact of Subramaniam and Thirumoorthy factors

On the PKR side, the plus and minuses:
(generally we can take the minuses of BN as plus here, and vice versa)

Plus (+)
. high profile bloke
- PAS and DAP supporting, so cornering a wide range of political proclivity
- BN unpopular in some sectors
- Anwar Ibrahim factor

Minuses (-)
- Guthrie background raised by PSM (could be huge minus in eyes of some rubber tappers)
- internal party strife (see, no race mentioned)
- Anwar Ibrahim factor (yes, he’s both a plus and minus)

So, there you have the benefit of my amateurish appreciation of the situation. I feel that the ‘50’ could be split evenly in best case scenario for PKR; the ‘30’ would by logic go to the BN, but there are unhappiness in the BN just as there are in PKR – so perhaps 20-ish to BN with ‘10’ to PKR.

Now we come to those bloody uncommitted inscrutable factor, the ‘20’. I don’t know because I can’t read them. But Manjit Bhatia and his brigade would undoubtedly know, surely! ;-)