The MOST EXPENSIVE By-Election in Malaysia's history!

I took this section out of an article from RPK!
Very interesting reading!!

In the March 2008 general election, the opposition needed only 300,000 more votes to form the federal government. Therefore, if the postal votes had gone to the opposition, Barisan Nasional would have been out of power. To ensure that the postal votes remained with Barisan Nasional you succumbed to the threats and agreed to compromise on the IPCMC.
In that sense, Pak Lah, you are indirectly responsible for the continuing problem of police brutality. What the police are doing is your fault. This is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog and not the dog wagging the tail. Maybe you would like to reconsider your decision on the IPCMC and demonstrate to the nation that you, and not the police, are running this country.
While on the subject of the police, let it be known that the police managed to reduce Pakatan Rakyat's majority in the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election from more than 7,000 votes to a mere 2,631. And I have this on video if you would like to see the evidence. You know that the opposition's majority in the Kuala Terengganu by-election was much higher than 2,631. And I am sure this is troubling you to no end. And I am equally sure you know that this is because the people do not want Najib Tun Razak to take over as Prime Minister in March. As much as you may try to deny this you know I am spot on.

At 3.00pm on Polling Day, the police set up ten roadblocks and no one in town could get out nor those outside town could get in. Kuala Terengganu was totally cordoned off and the traffic jams were so massive that the town was reduced to a gridlock. I was arguing with the police at three different locations and, as I said, I have this on video. At one roadblock, when the police told me that this was 'arahan dari atas', I responded by saying that 'kalau orang atas bodoh dan kita ikut arahan tersebut maka kita juga bodoh'. You should have seen the police stare at me. They looked like they wanted to kill me.

By 4.00pm, voting almost ground to a halt and the 74% voter turnout troubled me. 74% was too low, and since the SPR had announced earlier that morning that the voter turnout was going to be 80%, I was worried that this would mean another 6% or so were going to be 'phantom voters'. True enough, an hour later, when polling ended, the voter turnout jumped to 81%. It was later 'adjusted' to 79%. This means 5% to 7% additional votes came in, although no one was voting any longer. This represents about 5,000 votes or thereabouts.

Say what you like, the opposition not only won the Kuala Terengganu by-election, but it won with a larger majority. And this was in spite of Najib and his wife campaigning fulltime in Terengganu and the RM500 million that was committed to the by-election effort. No doubt RM400 million was spent indirectly when Najib launched the special investment fund. Nevertheless, this RM400 million was still for purposes of the by-election and no one can deny this.

Mind you, the RM500 million is just my conservative estimate. It could be more. But it still makes the Kuala Terengganu by-election the most expensive by-election in Malaysian history and yet Barisan Nasional lost, whether it was by 2,631 votes or 7,631 votes. The police air-conditioned tents alone came to RM10 million. The food, at about RM50 to RM60 per day per person over three weeks, came to another RM10 million. Then there was the outstation allowance and so on. I estimate the cost of stationing 8,000 police personnel in Kuala Terengganu over three weeks at about RM25 million to RM30 million. And it could actually be more considering the normal 'leakages' in government expenditure.
Then there are the many free dinners and the RM300 to RM1,000 'Ang Pows' for the 80,000 or so voters. Even the press people received RM300 Ang Pows each, though none were offered to the Bloggers, for whatever reason I do not know.

Are you happy, Pak Lah, that Najib spent about RM500 million in the most expensive by-election in Malaysian history and Barisan Nasional still lost? How does this reflect on the confidence the people have in Najib? Do you know that the 'battle-cry' in the Kuala Terengganu by-election was the song 'Najib Altantuya Mongolia' sung to the tune 'When the Saints Come Marching in'? Young Malays from the kampong who you would least expect to know this 'Christian' song were singing this song. Yes, say what you like, the Kuala Terengganu by-election was not a by-election. It was a vote of no confidence against Najib. And it was the Malays who voted against Najib -- and young Malays at that, Malays from the kampong. Did not Musa Hitam and Ghafar Baba, both one-time Deputy Prime Ministers, say that Umno's strength is in the rural areas and that Umno needs to gain the support of the kampong Malays to stay in power? Well, the kampong Malays have spoken on 17 January 2009 in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. I am just not sure whether you heard them; that's all. If you did not then I am telling you now. The young Malays from the kampong have said no to Najib. Do you still want to ignore this message and doom Umno to the political graveyard?

There is much more I need to tell you but allow me to end my open letter here, for the meantime. I now need to go attend the PKR Chinese New Year open house in Klang and go hassle Anwar Ibrahim on this Anti-ISA thing that I want the five Pakatan Rakyat states to commit themselves to.

Till we talk again, take care, as there are many surrounding you with daggers drawn -- which makes Julius Caesar's predicament a picnic by comparison. Is it not ironical that in your present situation you can trust your enemies more than your friends? Anyway, once again,

Yours truly,
Raja Petra Al Haj Bin Raja Kamarudin