Date of publication: 05-05-2013
Today, it will be 13.3 million Malaysians vote in a general election seen as too close to call.
In an open letter to Malaysians yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak called voters think about their choice of the Government.
And at an event in his home country of Pahang, he reminded them of the importance of support by the right person, say: "choose a leader with credibility at the helm of the country."
That was clearly focused on his Wijnand Rakyat (PR) rival Anwar Ibrahim, who has been jailed on corruption charges were politically motivated stress.
But Anwar, in his final push to the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that has ruled the country for 55 years, topple checked out a to-do list for his PR if it takes power.
Speaking of Permatang Pauh, its seat in Penang, he promised to cut gasoline prices by the Tuesday, moving to abolish the highway tolls and waive all higher education students loans within 30 days, and take another "10 actions within 100 days", including a review of all privatization contracts considered harmful for Malaysians.
5 Pm, with results for the 222 seats in Parliament and 505 State seats expected through the night and into the morning ends up polling booths open at 8 am and voting.
The stakes are high for both sides.
In the general election of 2008 suffered a rude shock when the BN then fledgling PR won more than a third of the seats in Parliament and five States. BN regained Perak a year later, after several PR assemblymen switched camps.
BN won 51 percent of the vote and PR, 49 percent, in what was the worst result ever, although the ruling coalition held on to 140 of the 222 parliamentary seats.
The loss of a two-thirds majority shattered BN of moral and also meant that 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 for a record of economic and other reforms, and said that the election the Government promises to the people.
He has criss-crossed the country for the past 15 days to a 13th term for billion. Other leaders of the Coalition, including his Deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and Malaysian Chinese Association President Chua Soi Lek, stumped in different cities but focused especially on the hot state of Johor.
Variety is prominent in the campaign, with Mr Najib is banking on his personal popularity to woo Chinese and Indian voters who BN in 2008.
With the Chinese vote still seems to lean toward the opposition and the remaining mixed Indian vote, the Malay vote seen as critical in many marginal seats.
What contemporary election also less predictable is that the number of registered voters climbs to 13.3 million of 10.5 million five years ago has led to an increase in political importance. Young, first seen as voters hunger for change could play a crucial role in shaping the outcome.
The increase in political interest has also seen intense online campaigns can sway public opinion.
Anwar sees this election as the best chance to break its coalition BN the grip.
He and other leaders held massive rallies in PR Penang, Johor, Selangor and Sarawak sway fence-sitters on their side.
Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) PR partner President Hadi Awang, want to relieve concerns about Malay Chinese demands in case of a PR victory, pledged that his party will protect the special position of Malays and Islam.
Johor, the birthplace of the BN Umno, most closely monitored battlefield, where the opposition is go all out for a breakthrough in a BN stronghold.
In the same way, Sabah and Sarawak, long been considered "fixed deposit" States for delivering strong results to BN, may yield surprises, certain 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 finish line.
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