Tuesday 14 June 2016

A lesson from Tenang

I was at a high-powered buka puasa function yesterday evening.

Normally I would try to avoid going to such an event.

I prefer to buka puasa at home as it's easier and more comfortable  to do the necessary after that.

But yesterday, my boss asked me to attend the function, so I went lah.

Bumped into two people that I know from the PM's office.

We knew each other from back then when DS Najib Razak was still the deputy prime minister.

I consider one of them as a dear friend.

Not seen them for more than a year, but they were still very nice to me as usual.

The one who is my friend even joked that he wanted to give me RM20k, in reference to an allegation by someone that I'm a paid DAP cybertrooper.

I had a good laugh at that.

Was seated with a group of bloggers who just came back from Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar.

They were quiet friendly even though they didn't know me.

I asked them how were things at the two by-elections.

They said BN will most likely win in Sungai Besar but they were worried about Kuala Kangsar.

"The machineries are not working well there. And there is also the candidate problem," one of them said.

The BN candidate is Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid, who is the widow of the late former MP Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad.

The blogger added that there was also the problem of "peruntukan tak turun kebawah", in reference to allowances for party workers.

That's not good, I told myself.

But these are all problems perceived by the bloggers.

For me, they may not have the complete picture of things because they were there for just one or two days.

That's for me was not good enough to conclude that things were bad for BN in Kuala Kangsar.

I had seen this before.

Back in January 2011, when I was helping Johor BN at the Tenang by-election, a group of pro-Umno bloggers from KL turned up in the midst of campaigning.

I was not yet a blogger at that time.

I remember getting frustrated upon reading their postings several days later.

They basically wrote that BN was in trouble because their observation during the one day stop-over in Labis, which was the town centre of the constituency, indicated that the campaigning at that by-election was poorly handled.

At that time I was already camping in Labis for the past two weeks and I had seen how the campaigning was carried out.

Until now, I have not yet see a better coordinated campaign by BN during a by-election than the one in Tenang.

And I had been to quite a number of by-elections to make the comparison.

It was a very efficient no frill campaign which cost was just a fraction of that utilised for other by-elections.

BN was led by then Johor MB TS Abdul Ghani Othman at the Tenang by-election 
One of these days I will write what I remember of the by-election in details.

BN won with a significantly increased majority after a memorable polling day, marked by a major flood in the constituency.

You can read more about it here,

Tenang by-election


It's therefore important to double check reports with those who are really on the ground to get the real picture.

It's more tedious, but in matters such as election strategy, it's better to be thorough than sorry.

Intelligence gathering must come from the ground and there's no two ways about it.

Back to the buka puasa thing, I actually didn't eat very much at the function.

I'm always uncomfortable at such functions to eat properly

When I reached home, I fixed myself some lempeng and eat it with sambal sardine.

Had that for sahur too.

20 comments:

  1. It's pretty sad if you haven't woken up to the glaring fact that today BN is effectively Benteng Najib . . .

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    Replies
    1. BN? so now, where do the children play?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a4DCxAi020

      Delete
  2. BN have had candidacy problems in the past and still managed a win. It's not something we should worry about..

    Pencinta Tanah Melayu

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  3. At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely - William Somerset Maugham

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  4. Jho Low was still unknown during Tenang by-election. No GST too, then. Unlike Linda Tsen Thau Lin (Baru Sapi's MP - husband died in motorcycle accident) Mastura had to observe 'edah' (must stay indoor for 40days?), rendering KK by-election a family affair with all his 4 sons campaigning for her.
    Demi Rakyat, where?

    She might even lose her own vote if Perak's Mufti says she could not leave her house to vote.

    If Mastura wins, will that make her 'Ketua Bahagian Kuala Kangsar'?
    Demi Najib?

    ReplyDelete

  5. Lempeng with sambal sardin ,how nice if it was eaten for dinner while travelling in a private jet ,and the next morning maybe ubi rebus and sambal tumis petai for break first .

    Anybody dream of that ?.

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  6. I pray that BN will lose in both by-election.

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  7. Annie,

    BN will win both by-elections, no problem.

    it's quite funny how the barking, semi-literate Chinamen on M'kini are scolding Azmin, when in fact Azmin's strategy is completely right:

    Push for 1-on-1 fights.

    If that happens, then Parti Najib will die.

    If only the PAS No. 2 was the President of PAS...

    In the meantime, Hadi has to develop selective blindness and deafness to Bibirpink's theft of billions.

    Ahhhh, politicians!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Hadi has to develop selective blindness and deafness to Bibirpink's theft of billions."......wait for IPIC case in london, then we see if hadi pekak buta bisu buat x tahu jer?

      Delete
  8. Again, the DAP being stupid till the very end.

    Do not issue leaflets and billboards in your chinky-chonk language, please. Learn to take a back seat, learn to be humble, learn to be sopan santun. It's not your show this time. Lu tutuk diam, maaa.

    Or, put on 600kg in weight, develop a serious B.O. problem and three chins, and write the same blog post 3,000 times, like some dedak-guzzling female farm animals whose name we cannot mention.

    Either way, you guys are a joke.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Annie,

    Life is good for some bloggers, travel here and there, getting invites to high-powered buka puasas.

    But I tend to disagree with those bloggers.

    I suspect those bloggers have been speaking to the infamous Jamal Yunos in Sungai Besar and I don't think that Jamal is going to say that it is rough sailing.

    Sungai Besar is very likely touch and go because Pakatan is working pretty hard there.

    Plus Sungai Besar is in Selangor and Pakatan Selangor is in the position to make just as many rash promises as anybody else :)

    Kuala Kangsar is probably going to stay BN.

    We already know of the money handed out and/or promised to Kuala Kangsar so I think that should tip the balance in favour of BN there.

    Now on to the important matter I would like to address - the sambal sardin you had.

    Strangely, sambal sardin does not seem very popular with the Indian and Malay restaurants around my kampung in Selangor.

    To be honest, I don't think I have ever seen it offered in any of four Indian restaurants nor the three Malay stalls I frequent.

    Maybe it is because it is too simple to offer as a dish, I dunno. Must ask.

    I need to make some.

    I googled the recipe and it doesn't seem very difficult, although there were several versions.

    Thanks for the idea. :)

    Gladiator

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  10. walaupun hi-power atau biasa saje jangan lupa doanya syukur buka puasa ya lil' annie?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xYPE8zJO9w

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tiga penggal pegang jawatan MB, Johor memang tenang. Tenang je, waktu dia masuk pejabat MB wajah Johor macam tu, waktu dia keluar wajah Johor pun macam tu juga. Bukan tenang lagi dah, Johor tidur.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ikut suka hati engko lah Labu nak komen apa pun.

      Delete
  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment but I can't publish it because I have banned the name you mentioned from this blog. Sorry.

      Delete
  13. wow...interesting

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  14. Looks like both of you are on the same side now...

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  15. Her friends, the RBAs must be propping up her blog so as to convince the Malays that she is on their side. she kept on hashing the same stories, and the RBAs attack her non-stop. Well, it's a small price to pay, considering that she is now on both sides of the fence. Wreaking havoc from the inside is no small feat. A DAP stalwart now a Malay champion... Hmmm...a well trained DAP dog I would say

    ReplyDelete