Will polling date remind voters of May 13?

Will polling day be fixed closer to May 13 to coincide with the anniversary of the country's worst racial riots sparked by the trouncing of UMNO in the 1969 elections?

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu did not dismiss this possibility, saying elements in UMNO, looking at a major defeat, could be out to replay the May 13 riots to scare-off voters.

“I think the election could be held in early May with the aim of raising the spectre May 13," the vocal veteran party leader said during a ceramah in Lenggong, Perak.

Mat Sabu pointed out that the North-South Highway is now littered with billboards on 'stability' to drive home the message that voting BN would ensure peace.

“We can see all the billboards on peace, stability, chaos and riot. Now the billboards are all over the country,” he observed.

He urged Pakatan Rakyat’s machinery to focus on convincing voters that there would be no chaos and riots if the coalition takes over the Federal government at the coming polls.

Announcing the dissolution of parliament last Wednesday, BN chairman Najib Razak promised a peaceful transition of power should his coalition be defeated.

The spectre of racial riots have been raised several times by pro-UMNO groups and leaders, most notably by BN ally Perkasa and Wanita UMNO chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who argued that Malays would feel uneasy if UMNO was defeated. -HD