Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has accused Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of playing political games and ‘deliberately’ forcing the Penanti state by-election in Penang.“The people generally do not like by-elections that are held deliberately. There is so much time, energy and money being spent on by-elections that we do not even need,” Najib said.
“There is so much politicking in the country when we should have instead focused on fixing the economy, prioritising the people’s benefits. We should move forward.”
His comments were unsurprising, given that his Umno-Barisan Nasional coalition has lost in four of the five by-elections held since the 2008 general elction.
Najib was in charge of the election machinery for the Umno-BN for the first two at Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu, but quickly relinquished the hot seat to his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, in the recent triple by-election in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai.
It is also telling that he was concerned about the amount of funds spent on the election, given that the Umno-BN had to lavish RM70 million in election goodies on the 8,000-odd Batang Ai constituents. The Sarawak electorate was Najib’s sole victory.
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