Saying that there was no way Barisan could predict the outcome, Najib added that PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had obviously made his calculations by standing in his previous constituency.
On Thursday, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail announced she had resigned from her Permatang Pauh MP’s post to make way for Anwar to contest in a by-election there,
Malaysiakini report below:
"We have to be realistic. Its going to be a tough constituency, but we'll do our best," Najib told a press conference after a function in Kuala Lumpur today.Najib and Anwar have been involved in a protracted political fued which is bound to heat up as the deputy premier is most likely going to lead Barisan's campaign on the PKR leader's home turf.
Traditionally the deputy premier will head BN's election campaigns in all by-elections.
"Anything can happen in a by-election," said Najib, adding that Anwar had obviously stacked the odds in his favour by contesting in his former constituency.
Both Najib and Anwar are self-declared prime minister hopefuls but both are dogged by criminal allegations - which both typically reject as being political assassinations.
Najib said that Anwar was using the by-election instead of availing other channels to expunge his name from sodomy allegations made by a former aide.
“Anwar has decided to take it to the people (despite) having the opportunity to clear his name using the processes available to him.
The accusations were made by his staff and not the government,” he said.
He added that Barisan leadership would be meeting soon to decide on a candidate. – Malaysiakini .
Related article: Permatang Pauh and the Domino Effects? Here
8 comments:
the heat is on!
Anwar is going "now or never" at Permatang Pauh.no wonder he chosed Permatang Pauh because P.Pauh have the reputation of being Anwar's strongest fortress.why would he risk himself of competing at place that have small percentage of winning?
but it's different for BN.tough one so says Najib.yeah,with all the issues and problems invoving the federal govt is muchless gonna affect BN in the upcoming by-election.
then again,anything can happen in by-election.
surely the by-election at Permatang Pauh will gonna change the scenario of Malaysian politic after this either BN or PKR wins.
I quoeted this from elviza which her analysis is incredible.
Prior to Azizah’s move, Anwar has been confidently vocal in securing victory in either of the two parliamentary seats - Kulim and Bandar Tun Razak - both holds by Pakatan Rakyat post March 8, 2008 general election. He also claimed to have enough of the ruling coalition’s MPs to cross over to his side of the battle thus lending him the ticket to be prime minister, a dream he harbours for so long.
To either his credit or detriment, Anwar has been launching a psychological warfare against the widely-criticised BN even before the last general election to jolt himself forward in the country’s most-watched power struggle. However, skeptics condemn Anwar for choosing such a safe-seat for him to return to the political front. Permatang Pauh is, undoubtedly, Anwar’s strong fort even prior to his incarceration and him being unceremoniously kicked out of UMNO.
Anwar could win Permatang Pauh even with his eyes closed and half the required effort to win in any election. Voters of Permatang Pauh worship Anwar next to God. Even when BN almost made a clean sweep in 2004 general election, Permatang Pauh stayed true to Anwar’s ideology silhouetted in a form of the amiable-motherly-tender Azizah. Azizah is a wife all politicians dream of having. Undaunted, she torches Anwar’s darkest political path for the past ten years.
The SPR must now call for a by-election within 60 days as dictated by the law. Who would BN front as a sacrificial lamb in this hopeless fight against Anwar remains a mystery to many. Be that as it may, BN has the advantage of having a bottomless wallet in footing the by-election’s expenses. BN would typically bring its entire machinery and limitless resources to Permatang Pauh to ensure Anwar will never again set foot in the august house. Both sides have an uphill battle to fight in the next sixty days to come.
On the sideline, UMNO has been relentless in its bid to get into bed with PAS under the name of unity and islamic interest. Ironically - and if history bears any measure at all - both parties had been bickering to no end prior to March 8, general election. UMNO now sings a different tune altogether to lure PAS into yet another marriage of convenience. PAS has yet to make up its mind much to Pakatan Rakyat’s chagrin. Statesman, Tun Dr Mahathir calls the effort to marry off UMNO and PAS like trying to cross-breed cat and goat! Oh, he has wicked wits and sense of humor, still.
Statistic shows that Permatang Pauh is a constituency with 69.4% malay voters, 24.5% chinese voters and 6% indian voters. Needless to say, the voters never voted for any party’s manifesto for they have been voting for Anwar. Permatang Pauh to Anwar is like Gua Musang to Tengku Razaleigh. My later grandfather used to say, “kalau Ku Li pakai party cap beruk pun dia tetap akan menang di Gua Musang“. Translation: “if Ku Li is under ‘monkey’s party’ he would still win in Gua Musang”.
Still, Anwar must fend off the sodomy allegation lodged against him by Saiful Bakri. The allegation, to a certain extent, poses as a stumbling block in Pakatan Rakyat’s dream of ruling the country even if PAS and DAP have expressed their confidence that Anwar is, indeed, innocent. His refusal to swear his innocence on the Qur’an raises many eyebrows. How Anwar steer his political boat out of the storm will have an effect in the forthcoming by-election.
In any other way, political agenda is going to be interesting, is either the defending of BN government's legacy or the new conqueror of PR evolution.
big 3 can beat Anwar
1 sodomy charge
2.saiful should beat anwar hands down if najib agress to nominate him as umno's candidate for pematang pauh
3 perhaps uncle pat
Bagi saya, ini adalah peluang bagi rakyat untuk memberitahu BN bahawa kita tidak puas hati dengan cara mereka mentadbirkan negara kita.Rakyat yang tinggal di Permatang Pauh terpaksa mengundi dengan cermat kerana mereka sekarang mewakili seluruh Rakyat Malaysia.Undi itu akan menolong seluruh Rakyat Malaysia memberitahu BN supaya mentadbir Negara Kita dengan cermat dan cekap, membawa kita ke arah yang betul-betul membawa manfaat kepada seluruh RAKYAT MALAYSIA DAN NEGARA KITA.
Politicanalyst and similar critics are wrong to condemn Anwar for choosing Permatang Pauh. Anwar wants to get into parliament ASAP and has chosen Kulim originally and Zulkifli had indicated he was prepared to make way for Anwar. But the judge obviously heeded instructions from Najib/Pak Lah to postpone making a decision on the appeal to 19 Aug to stall Anwar. So can you politicanalyst blame Anwar for choosing Permatang Pauh. And why shouldn't he?PP used to be his constituency and Wan Azizah took over from him because he was in jail from 1998-2004 and only eligible to contest 14 April 2008. By choosing PP, Anwar has cleverly put the pressure on Najib and UMNO, making it clear that not all the millions of ringgit they dump into the by-election is going to let the UMNO candidate win. Anwar has forced Pak Lah to come out openly to say that no one can stop Anwar from contesting, but then Pak Lah is notorious for his lying. Didn't Pak Lah tell the whole country and world that Anwar would not be arrested when Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah visited him the day Anwar took refuge in the Turkish embassy for fear of being arrested after Saiful lodged the infamous police report? What did Pak Lah do or say when armed police in balaclavas arrested Anwar outside his house on 16 July, about an hour before the deadline for his visit to the police station expired? Pak Lah's credibility now is virtually zero. Just look at the Merdeka Centre survey just released. So policanalyst and others, think first before criticising Anwar for choosing Permatang Pauh and not other constituencies to contest in the by-election. Ponder over the reasons I mentioned above and you will perhaps agree that you are wrong.
Anonymous 8:35pm.
I agree with you. Sdr Anwar has good reasons why he is contesting in Permatang Pauh.
Here's what A. Kadir Jasin wrote in his blog. Am going to copy & paste it here.
There are several very compelling reasons why Anwar has to take the plunge now and why in Permatang Pauh is the best place to do so.
The last thing first – why Permatang Pauh?
For a start, it is Anwar’s first and only parliamentary constituency. He recaptured the seat from Pas at the age of 35 in 1982 as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's protege.
He can choose to contest in other PKR-held Parliamentary seats.
A few days ago there were talks that the PKR MP for Kulim-Bandar Baru in Kedah, Zulkifli Nordin, would step down to allow him to contest the seat.
There were also rumours that he was contesting in the Bandar Tun Abdul Razak constituency in Kuala Lumpur now held by Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the Selangor Menteri Besar.
But Permatang Pauh is the safest and most historically relevant. The Penang Malay-dominated constituency carries a significant psychological advantage for Anwar.
It was there in 1982 that he became a giant killer by defeating the incumbent Pas MP, Haji Zabidi Ali.
Wan Azizah held the seat since the 1999 general election and in the last March 8 polls easily defeated the BN with 13,388 votes majority.
There’s no safer place for Anwar to stage a parliamentary comeback than in Permatang Pauh. Given that the Barisan Nasional is almost certain to do all it can to thwart his comeback attempt, fighting in a familiar territory gives him an advantage.
Also, being a Penangite, it would not be correct for him to contest in other states especially when his larger objective is to topple the government led by another Penangite, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
My prayers for Sdr Anwar and his family. And may victory be his, God willing.
a nice move. Anwar impossible to lose. If he lost, rakyat will be in puzzle and wondering if BN play dirty. No reason for Anwar to lose. Can't wait Anwar to wrack those imcompetence and waste tax payers money's MP from BN.
Kelantannese
Takut laa tu, last2 main dekat kubu sendiri juga. Di bawah ketiak isteri, ahaha..
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