State government more important for Bread and Butter issues

Zaid is right. The state government is more important for bread and
butter issues.
If the voters are only interested in bread and butter issues such as
land titles and garbage collection, then since PKR is the current
state government, no matter what the result of the MP election is, an
BN MP will not help them at all. It will make it worse.

This is confirmed by the voters comments in this article.

Why on Earth Sabahan MPs be so scared in crossing over to any party
they wish at the MP level when the people already got the state
government that they want?

sabah already got the BN, touted as more Islamic than PKR that had to
sleep with the racist DAP, as the State Government. As normal bread
and butter issues are handled by the State Government, why not topple
BN at the Federal Level in favour of someone who can give more grants
to Sabah State Government directly, i.e. PR.

The total grants may be the same as pointed out by Musa Aman, but it
won't solve the bread and butter issues of the State since it is
handled by the Federal Government, not the State Government.

What sort of stupid arguments that Sabahans had succumbled to, to the
point that Sabah is now confirmed as the poorest, not only in Malaysia
but the whole world, despite having such immense natural resources and
natural beauty.

BN sees easy shot with Zaid as goal keeper
WED, 14 APR 2010 11:40
By Zainal Epi

KUALA KUBU BARU: Barisan Nasional sees an easy battle now that PKR is
fielding former minister Zaid Ibrahim as its candidate for the Hulu
Selangor parliamentary by-election.

For one, Zaid is not a local boy, and so he is not in touch with local
issues which the upcoming by-election is expected to focus on. Worse
still, he may not be able to blend with the locals, some voters here
say.

The semi-urban voters of the constituency are mostly working in
factories, plantations and their own land and bread-and-butter issues
are their daily worries. National issues, which Zaid is fond of and
which brought him into the limelight, are treated as "extraneous" and
do not concern them.

"I heard of him (Zaid). PKR members told me he is a righteous man.
It's good but what we want here is someone who can relate to us,
someone who can help us solve our local problems such as licensing,
garbage collection, developing the town so that our business can
grow," said one shop owner here.

But PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim probably has other plans for
Zaid. Anwar may be looking at the larger picture: Zaid is not just a
man representing 64,500 voters; more importantly, he is someone who
can be a great asset in Parliament to address the bigger issues.

While Anwar probably wants Zaid to be a national player as an MP, the
main concern for the party now is how to sell Zaid to the local
voters. The 198-majority votes garnered by the late Zainal Abidin
Ahmad in the 2008 general election was "unreal" because it reflected
more a general anti-government sentiment than a liking for PKR,
according to folks here.

Office worker Rosmina Ismail, 44, said voters wanted someone whom they
could relate to.

"The late Zainal Abidin was an intellectual but he came across as a
people's man whom the semi-urban voters could relate to. He was simple
and down-to-earth.

"We thought PKR would have picked a local man but instead it chose a
prominent personality, someone we find difficult to communicate with,"
she said, with two friends nodding in agreement.

For BN, the early prediction of an uphill battle has now ceased as it
sees Zaid a candidate with "loads of baggage".

"It is good for us that PKR is fielding Zaid. It will be a pleasure to
fight him here. Our chances of winning are better now since he has
lots of baggage with him," said Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

The Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister believes that
Zaid's past disciplinary problems when he was in Umno will be his
undoing.

Other BN MPs shared similar sentiments: the field is clear now and the
goal post is wide open for a good shot; there is no need for a
penalty.

Despite BN's "feel good" sentiment, the ruling coalition is not
without problems. With just two days to go for the coalition to name
its candidate, squabbles within the MIC may just blow away BN's
chances of walking away with the coveted prize, come April 25.

Former three-time MP G Palanivel is still being pushed hard by party
president S Samy Vellu while the preferred choice among Umno division
members is MIC deputy Youth chief V Mugilan.

Whoever the candidate is, some local folks said they would prefer
local boy Mugilan who is known to be affable and easy to get along
with.

The ball is now in BN's court: it must field a suitable candidate who
can win the hearts and minds of the local people. More importantly, he
must be someone who can effectively serve the people after the battle
is over.

If BN fields the wrong candidate, then PKR may romp home with a bigger
majority.