BN Ups The Ante To Quash PKR's "Moon And Stars" Promise

PENANG, Feb 29 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) has upped the ante in a bid to wrest control of Permatang Pauh, the bastion of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), with its first election rally drawing large crowds despite a heavy downpour.

In Permatang Pasir yesterday, deputy chairman of the ruling coalition, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, on a nationwide campaign, flew in on a helicopter from Kedah to woo the electorate, giving a boost to BN candidates contesting in the March 8 polls.

"Vote wisely" was Najibs pitch to the 5,000-odd crowd, the majority of whom were women, at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan school field, driving home the need for the people to give the BN government a strong mandate in the election to ensure continued progress and stability.

"And be wary of candidates who like to make promises -- promising the moon and stars (so to speak), " said Najib, drawing thunderous applause from the crowd seated under a giant canopy, including Malaysias space hero Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha.

Hailed as the countrys first "angkasawan," Sheikh Muszaphar is now a crowd-puller at election rallies of the ruling coalition but the Selangor-born says he tries to avoid talking about politics while on his road tour despite the current election fever.

Sent on a space flight last year, he said that he was not averse to joining politics, admitting that he loved all the attention from people.

Local folk, young and old, would crowd around him for an autograph, picture , or a simple chat on his experience in space.

Indeed, the tall and handsome astronaut was the "appetiser" on the Barisan Nasional (BN) menu in Permatang Pasir, with Najib and Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, introducing Sheikh Muszaphar as "our party candidate from the moon."

"Our candidates come in all shapes and sizes -- our BN candidate for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, Datuk Pirdaus Ismail , is the smallest (candidate) and the largest is Datuk Ariff Shah Omar Shah, who is contesting the Seberang Jaya state seat," said Najib.

BN candidates Ahmad Sahar Shuib and Datuk Abdul Jalil Abdul Hamid for the Permatang Pasir and Penanti state seats respectively, were of average size, with Abdul Jalil, the tallest among them, he said.

"But we pick candidates who can serve the people well and effectively," said MP for Pekan, Pahang, who had a tight schedule, with seven programmes meeting people of all races in Kedah and Penang within a day.

"It is easy to make promises, anyone can make promises, what more promises that are unrealistic," he said, hitting at the oppositions pledge to reduce the oil price if it takes over the government.

PKR promises to immediately cut the oil price if it takes over the government. One poster of de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim making such promises says it all: "Kalau hari ini kami menang, besok juga kami umumkan harga minyak turun."(If we win today we will announce a reduction in the oil price tomorrow.)

Najib, at the Permatang Pasir rally, said it was easy to make promises, but implementing them would be difficult, especially those which are unrealistic.

For example, the promise to reduce the toll rates, to raise subsidy and bring down petrol price, as pledged by the PKR in its manifesto.

He advised voters to ensure that the candidates and party chosen were capable of forming a credible government with clear direction.

Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz described PKRs desire to form the government and then reduce the price of oil as a daydream.

"How can an individual whose party will not be able to win the state and parliamentary seats promise to reduce the oil price if the party forms the government," Rafidah told reporters after meeting Barisan Nasional candidates for Permatang Pauh on Wednesday.

In the 1999 general election, Wan Azizah led the party to win five seats in Parliament and was herself elected the MP for Permatang Pauh, the seat formerly held by her husband, Anwar, with a majority of 9,077 votes.

It was a major setback for the party when it only managed to retain one parliamentary seat in the 2004 general election, through Wan Azizah who retained the seat with a reduced majority of 590 votes.

She now faces her 2004 challenger from BN, Datuk Pirdaus Ismail, a former imam of Masjid Negara, who describes himself as a "representative of change."

Permatang Pauh has 58,449 voters comprising 62.4 per cent Malays, 24.8 per cent Chinese 6.3 per cent Indians and 0.4 per cent others.

Rafidah, who is International Trade and Industry Ministry, said the oppositions ambition and promises were difficult to achieve, considering that the oil price was determined by the world market.

An analyst said: "We should accept the fact that the oil price can only go up, not down. I can't really think of a way that is sustainable for a longer term as the oil price is controlled by market forces.

"We may be able to scrap some billion ringgit projects that are irrelevant or cut over-spending public funds or make companies more management-efficient to stop wastage of funds… but, how long can this hold the oil price.

Everyone would be more than happy to hear about a price drop, but is that possible" she said.

"Subsidies come from the government."

"Economics teaches us that the government can increase its expenditure through tax. Tax is our money. Do we want to hear that the oil price can be reduced but later on, the income tax rate is indirectly used to fund this operation."

An analyst explained: "One reason prices are as high as they are is provided by the controls over world supply by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), and the dominant role played within Opec by the biggest resource owners in the Middle East countries."

He said most Opec nations were keen to enjoy high export prices to foster their own economic development.

At the same time, world demand is dominated by the United States and Europe but with rapid import growth especially in China.

“These are some of the factors that have led to oil prices rising to record highs,” he said.

BN chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when launching the BN’s 21-page election manifesto themed ‘Security, Peace and Prosperity,’ said its promises were realistic and responsible and not merely empty promises.

The government spent RM43.4 billion last year to help the people counter rising prices of global crude oil and commodities. Of this, RM35 billion was for fuel subsidies.

-- BERNAMA