The voters of Hulu Selangor have spoken and all parties must respect their verdict whether they like it or not. It is also time for them to fulfill their promises made during the campaign.
According to the Election Commission (EC), the voter turnout was 75.87 % which works out to a total of 48,935 votes. Of that the BarisanNasional (BN) candidate obtained 24,997 votes (51%) and PakatanRakyat 23,272 votes (48%) with the former winning by a majority of 1,725 votes.

It was interesting that both coalitions improved slightly on their votes obtained compared to the last polls but the BN managed to increase more than Pakatan. BN managed to get more of the Malay and Indian votes although not up to its pre-March 8 levels but its share of the Chinese votes seems to have dropped.

The BN may have won the Hulu Selangor seat by a majority of 1,725 votes but that does not seem to reflect a change in the feelings of the people on the ground. There appears to be equal support for both BN and Pakatan despite the advantage the former has as the ruling coalition.

As usual, the winner rejoices and loser finds excuses to justify its loss. Pakatan says BN had spent about RM160 million to secure its victory in Hulu Selangor which means it had to fork out an average of RM65,000 per voter. The people may be entitled to the money but must this be given out during by-elections when the government had five years to do so? Isn’t this a form of corruption?

Pakatan further claims that it had to work against an unfair EC which failed to ensure a free and fair election, police intimidation, attempts to prevent voters from voting freely without fear and a blatantly biased mainstream media. Elections are fundamental for a democracy to thrive and if they cannot be conducted in a manner fair to all parties then it defeats the very purpose of a democracy itself.

As such the EC must seriously investigate these allegations and come clean of its role in conducting by-elections. The number of untoward incidents during the by-election was also higher than usual. According to the police, 37 people were held, 215 reports lodged during the by-election and there were a number of those who sustained injuries and had to be treated at the hospitals. These are dangerous precedents that must never be tolerated as that would only become a major problem in the future like in many countries.

The people must be educated on the importance of a healthy contest and violence of any sort must not be condoned for any reason. A highly professional and independent conduct of the EC and police will go a long way towards preventing unnecessary provocations and violence during elections.

The BN may have won the by-election with increased support from the rural Malay and Indian voters but the increase is far from what the BN leaders expected. Moreover the much needed Chinese support has dwindled from 37% to 28%. Despite the massive campaign, the large amount of money spent and grants approved and promised, the BN did not get their landslide victory as expected. This calls for a thorough soul-searching review of its operations and system of governance.

Instead of punishing those, especially the Chinese, who have not voted for it as advocated by certain extremist quarters, the BN must find better means to reach out to those who rejected it. It must accept the stark reality of the increasing maturity of the voters of all races who are not going to be influenced by money politics, unrealistic promises and political slogans that remain as mere rhetoric.

Character assassination, racism, bribery and brute force may help to win one or two by-elections now, but there are already signs that more and more Malaysians are not going to be hoodwinked by these antics in the future. Racial politics of the past are increasingly being rejected by the people of all races as they are beginning to realise that they are all here to stay and have to adapt to living side-by-side in harmony for long-term peace, prosperity and progress. Nothing less than concrete policy changes to ensure fairer opportunities and treatment of all races will bring back the non-Malay vote.

In this regards, Umno, as the backbone of the BN, must distance itself from extremist groups to show that it is sincere about its ‘1Malaysia’ policy. The people now want genuine development in all areas - social, economic, political and moral. Bread-and-butter issues are not going to be the defining factors like they used to be before but rather sophisticated national issues regarding economic prudence, transparency, social justice, corruption and a fairer distribution of the wealth of the country among the people.

On the other hand Pakatan, in particular PKR which has lost significant support amongst the Malays and Indians especially in the rural areas, must also conduct a no holds-barred session to see where they have gone wrong. They should not take the people’s support for granted but work to attract the people on their own merit and not be contented with the gains from the demerits of the BN as they are doing now.

Pakatan’s consistent multiracial platform, its unrelenting stand against corruption, power abuse and more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth based on a person’s needs and merits rather than his ethnicity or political affiliation have all been well-received by the people of all races. Pakatan must continue to build on the support of the people by focusing on a bigger national agenda and not allow petty squabbling among its members to sidetrack its resolution in achieving its goals.

The Hulu Selangor voters have indicated the people will not hesitate to reject Pakatan if it continues with its internal squabbles. The partners of Pakatan may be ideologically diverse but they should be united by a common aim that should transcend all differences among them. They must move more swiftly in forging a stronger and more cohesive coalition that the people can rely on as an alternate government.

PKR may be glue that binds the members of Pakatan but it is also the weakest link that is threatening to give way to its disruption. The defections of its members are a serious problem which its leaders must not take lightly. There must be stringent control in the admission of new members into its fold especially those who cross over from BN. The fact these people can cross over from another party reflects poorly on their integrity and loyalty.

Its politically publicised practice of mass admissions must be stopped. Members of BN parties applying to join PKR must be placed on a probationary period so as to allow time to gauge their loyalty, before they can be admitted as permanent members.