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LEADING THE CHARGE: Datuk Seri Najib on the campaign trail. He says the BN's two main election objectives are to win more than two-thirds of the votes nationwide and to recapture Kelantan state from PAS. -- PHOTO: AFP
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IN PEKAN (PAHANG) - BARISAN Nasional (BN) has a good chance of regaining control of Kelantan as voters want change after 18 years under Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has said.
But even as he sounded optimistic about the ruling coalition's chances in the northern Malay-heartland state, he was more sober about Indian votes nationwide.
While disgruntled Chinese voters were returning to the coalition, he said, the rock-solid Indian vote bank, upon which the BN was once able to rely completely, was now shaky.
Datuk Seri Najib provided this assessment of voter sentiment in the run-up to the March 8 polls when The Straits Times visited his home for an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
Taking a break from campaigning in his own constituency of Pekan in Pahang, he acknowledged that the BN could no longer take for granted the support of the Indians.
'In previous elections, the Indians have always delivered a very high percentage, as high as 80 per cent in some constituencies. That level of support is under threat,' he said.
But he believed the Chinese vote was more secure after the resolution of issues concerning the community, citing the example of the 10 new Chinese schools that have opened in recent years.
He maintained also that religious disputes over conversions to Islam and the Church's battle over the word 'Allah' in Malay-language Bibles would have no impact on the Chinese vote.
Religious minorities understood that the government's fundamental position, which is opposed to a theocratic Islamic state, had not changed.
'It's just trying to manage the difficulties of a multiracial society,' he said.
The minorities' support for BN has been undermined by strained race relations in the last few years.
Indian anger, in particular, has intensified since last November when thousands took to the streets to voice their protests over issues such as temple demolitions and economic marginalisation.
But Datuk Seri Najib said the BN was putting in a lot of effort to tell Indians that it was best to work within the system and that the election was not about 'personalities'.
The comment about personalities was an apparent reference to what seems to be mounting opposition within the community to Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president S. Samy Vellu.
On the Malay votes, Datuk Seri Najib said the majority of Malays were solidly behind Umno.
Turning to the Kelantan front, he said the BN had a 'good' chance of winning back Kelantan from PAS, which has controlled the state since 1990.
'The situation in Kelantan is ripe for a change but the support for PAS cannot be underrated,' he said.
If Umno could hang on to the rural seats it currently has in the state and swing shaky urban seats such as Machang, it could secure the state now held by PAS with a one-seat majority in the State Assembly.
Umno has put up a highly qualified candidate, former Bank Negara deputy governor Awang Adek Hussin, touted as a potential menteri besar should the BN win.
'We tested the ground, and his leadership has broad support,' said Datuk Seri Najib.
Both he and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi have been making regular visits to the state and a BN win would be a major victory.
Datuk Seri Najib, who is likely to be Malaysia's next prime minister, is leading the BN charge in the election and campaigning nationwide to lend support to Umno candidates.
And while he looked weary during the interview, with his silver hair mussed up from having been on the road for hours, he remained upbeat.
It had been a busy day for him - starting with a gathering at the heavy- machinery plant of DRB-Hicom followed by a meeting with villagers in Tasik Cini about 50km away.
The day before, he had campaigned in Kuala Lumpur at the launch of the BN manifesto and at a rally in a KL suburb until late in the night.
Pekan, with 50,000 voters, is a sprawling area, almost the size of Negeri Sembilan, and Datuk Seri Najib is contesting there for the eighth time.
His home in Pekan is next to his old wooden family house in a large landscaped garden. He inherited the constituency from his father, Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak.
With Datuk Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakvat fielding 31-year-old lightweight Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin against him, the Deputy Premier is aiming to improve his 71 per cent personal support this time.
Datuk Seri Najib found himself in an awkward spot recently when former premier Mahathir Mohamad said Prime Minister Abdullah should give way to him after this term. But he declined to be drawn into the debate and kept to his role as a loyal deputy.
Asked for his personal benchmark for an overall BN victory in the election, he said: 'The two-thirds majority is the traditional benchmark, but we would like to go beyond that. We are looking to recapture Kelantan.
'Those are the two basic objectives.'
carolynh@sph.com.sg
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