GE 14 - the other side.

Sunday, May 6,2018.

I wanted to see the action on the other side today.

In the morning it was Khairy at Mubarak NS' 16th. AGM at Kelana Resort. In the afternoon it was Isa at Sainy's house in PD. These are two UMNO stalwarts.

Khairy's stopover was brief, his speech briefer. The only strong campaigning point he made was that Mahathir is not fighting for principle, but for power. He claimed that he got his way when Dollah (Khairy's f.i.l., by the way) was elbowed out of office on his behest. Najib, on the other end,  has refused to follow suit. But everyday old UMNO leaders are popping up in the opposition camp.

There were maybe 30 people present in the ballroom, including a few of the hotel's waiters and waitresses. Khairy maybe was not inspired to be more fiery. But his accusation was as weak as his short speech. The lady MC tried to project a more energized Khairy, even calling hin by his little-used "Brigadier-General". How in hell did he get that !

Mahathir left office on his own volition, after 22 years in office. He started questioning Najib on specific issues, chief of which is the 1MDB fiasco, when people started coming to him from 2014, complaining about Najib and his antics. Mahathir didn't even allow his own children to be active in politics whilst he was the PM.

Mubarak NS committee members have been plying the whatsapp and congratulating each other about attending a few of the BN's campaign rounds. They sound as if their well-dressed presence at these functions would bring solid votes for the BN candidates. They're just deceiving themselves, "syok sendiri".

At 4 p.m. I went to pick up Ismail and Kak Ton to go to Sainy's house in PD, where Isa was expected to come.

We were early, but didn't have too long a wait before Isa and entourage arrived.

There were slightly more people here. As Yusof Misai said this morning, in the campaign rounds, women are many, men are few. There were about 50 women of all ages. Then there were, maybe, 20 men. But they were all clearly UMNO people. They wouldn't waste their votes on anything or anyone else. There's no additional vote for UMNO.

Isa is a slicker speaker than Khairy. He's been at it longer. He was facing a friendly crowd. There was no need for him to expound any elaborate political theories, to impress anyone. But he, too, spoke about Mahathir. Obviously Mahathir is who the UMNO camp is really haunted by. When the cry about rising prices is proffered, Isa said prices always go up, with Mahathir or Najib as PM. If KLIA and Putrajaya were built now, they would cost tons more. What Isa said is it's befuddling how Mahathir and Anwar and Lim Kit Siang can get together when for decades they had been tearing at each other. But his take that Wan Azizah has joined Mahathir because of the promise of making Anwar the PM eventually, should Pakatan win, is to me unpalatable.

These were performances that I don't rate high in this GE campaigning. You're not reaching out to potential voters who are searching for real answers, especially the large numbers of fence-sitters who more than likely would make the difference this time around. But as we lingered over coffee & cakes, Isa noted quietly that it's tougher this time. Idah even ( I believe she was pulling Isa's leg) bluntly said BN would lose PD. Isa did not contest that.

Appearances could be misleading, for sure. Voters are a strange lot. Look at Trump. Both sides are claiming victory, but only one will win. 14 elections produce a lot of tricks of the trade. There are 3 days left. We'll know soon enough.

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