Publication Date : 05-05-2013
Today, 13.3 million Malaysians will vote in a general election widely regarded as too close to call.
In an open letter to Malaysians yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak urged voters to think carefully about their choice of government.
And at an event in his home state of Pahang, he reminded them of the importance of supporting the right person, saying: "Choose a leader with credibility to helm the country."
That was clearly aimed at his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) rival Anwar Ibrahim, who has been jailed on corruption charges he insists were politically motivated.
But Anwar, in his final push to topple the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that has ruled the country for 55 years, ticked off a to-do list for his PR if it takes power.
Speaking from Permatang Pauh, his seat in Penang, he pledged to cut petrol prices by Tuesday, move to abolish highway tolls and waive all higher education student loans within 30 days, and take another "10 actions within 100 days", including a review of all privatisation contracts considered detrimental to Malaysians.
Polling booths open at 8am and voting will end at 5pm, with results for the 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats expected through the night and well into tomorrow morning.
The stakes are high for both sides.
In the 2008 general election, BN suffered a rude shock when the then fledgling PR won more than one-third of the seats in Parliament and five states. BN regained Perak a year later after several PR assemblymen switched camps.
BN won 51 per cent of the vote and PR, 49 per cent, in what was the ruling coalition's worst result ever, though it held on to 140 of the 222 parliamentary seats.
The loss of a two-thirds majority shattered BN's morale, and also meant it could not amend the federal Constitution, including redrawing electoral boundaries for this election.
Anxious to win back lost ground this time, Najib has campaigned on a record of economic and other reforms, and said the election is about fulfilling the government's promises to the people.
He has criss- crossed the country for the past 15 days to secure a 13th term for BN. Other coalition leaders, including his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and Malaysian Chinese Association president Chua Soi Lek, stumped in various towns but were focused especially on the hot state of Johor.
Race has figured prominently in the campaign, with Mr Najib banking on his personal popularity to woo Chinese and Indian voters who abandoned BN in 2008.
With the Chinese vote still appearing to lean towards the opposition and the Indian vote remaining mixed, the Malay vote is seen as critical in many marginal seats.
What also makes today's election less predictable is that a surge in political interest has resulted in the number of registered voters rising to 13.3 million from 10.5 million five years ago. Young, first- time voters seen as hungry for change could play a crucial role in shaping the outcome.
The upsurge in political interest has also seen intense online campaigns able to sway public opinion.
Anwar sees this election as his coalition's best chance to break BN's grip.
He and other PR leaders held massive rallies in Penang, Johor, Selangor and Sarawak to sway fence-sitters to their side.
PR partner Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) president Hadi Awang, seeking to ease Malay concerns about Chinese demands in the event of a PR win, pledged that his party will safeguard the special position of Malays and Islam.
Johor, the birthplace of BN's Umno, will be the most closely watched battleground, where the opposition is going all out for a breakthrough in a BN stronghold.
Similarly, Sabah and Sarawak, long considered "fixed deposit" states for delivering strong results to BN, may yield surprises, given opposition activity there this time.
Both sides have said they are confident of victory, but the best analysts can do is predict a neck- and-neck race to the finishing line.
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