THE battle of the 14th general election is not so much as between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, but between the people and Prime Minister Najib Razak, said Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong.

“It’s the people versus Najib. And it is a David versus Goliath campaign,” Liew said in a statement today.

The two-term MP also said there is no point trying to guess when Najib would call the elections.

“If Parliament is dissolved before Ramadan (May 17) and before (PKR adviser) Anwar Ibrahim is released from prison on June 8, it will either happen before the house sits on March 5 or after it ends on April 5.

“Either way, it is safe to conclude that we are less than 100 days from the most important election ever in Malaysian history.” 

Speaking to volunteers during a polling and counting agents’ (PACA) training session in Johor Baru on Sunday, Liew said the reason Najib has yet to call the elections is because he is unsure if he has won over the hearts and minds of Malaysians.

Against all the government’s machinery and gerrymandering, Liew said, the last decade has proven that voters can prevail despite the odds.

“As much as Najib believes that ‘cash is king’, money can’t buy everything.

“Back in 2007, I was doing research and hanging around with MPs quite a lot at the Parliament’s coffee lounge. One afternoon, a then MCA deputy minister who was already very rich before joining politics told me, ‘Young man, don’t get involved in politics if you don’t have money. Politics is all about money’.

“The next year, he lost his seat (and never regained it despite running in 2013) while I won mine with very little money, mostly donated through small donations from friends and well-wishers.

“My point is that money can buy a lot of things but it doesn’t necessarily buy the hearts and minds of the people.

“We, the people, have pride, aspiration and a sense of integrity. The people’s power of 2008 proved that politics is not about money,” said Liew, adding that despite the odds, upsets do happen.

In a December 2007 poll in Bukit Bendera, 30% said they would vote for BN while only 1% said they wanted DAP, said Liew.

“Many probably would be very discouraged and demoralised upon seeing the data. But I was very optimistic that there were another 45% who said ‘(the vote) is secret’.

“In the context of Malaysia where many still fear the powers-that-be, many won’t tell the truth about their political inclinations when asked by pollsters.

“It turned out that those who said ‘the vote is secret’ probably all voted for me. My opponent, three-term incumbent candidate Chia Kwang Chye, deputy minister and then secretary-general of Gerakan, which ruled Penang from 1969 to 2008, received 62% of votes in the 2004 general election but I defeated him with 67% of the votes in 2008,” said Liew.

He said that BN’s supporters will not remain with BN forever.

“When the tsunami happens, Umno would not be able to tell who among their ranks would revolt and vote against Najib.

“Ultimately, in the lopsided contest in Malaysia, the only way to defeat Umno-BN’s votes is to have huge participation from ordinary Malaysians through a massive peer-to-peer people’s campaign, not driven by political parties but energised by the participation of ordinary people.” – January 31, 2018.