Koh posing for the pixmen after retriving the handphone he left at the meeting room.

PENANG (Feb 27, 2008): Going for his fifth term as an elected representative, acting Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has been having fewer than four hours of sleep since nomination day (Feb 13).

Though a tested and seasoned election campaigner, the 12th general election is a different ballgame altogether.

He has to also consider the national perspective as the defacto Gerakan president and wooing the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat electorates to return him as their new Barisan Nasional (BN) MP.

Previously, he had to concentrate only on his Tanjung Bungah state seat and the state as chief minister.

"There are just so many things to do, many meetings to chair and attend, meeting Batu Kawan constituents, attending dinners and other official functions like meeting investors, for instance the one with Motorola (Motorola announced on Tuesday it would be investing RM350 million in Penang).

"At the end of the day, there is also the meeting to finalise the next day's programme, which can run until the early hours of the morning. I go to bed at 3am and I have to be up and about by 7am," Koh told theSun.

Earlier, Koh chaired a press conference to announce Penang's Progress Report 2008 which was also attended by all Penang state executive coulcillors.

Despite his busy schedule, Koh spent more than an hour answering questions by both local and foreign media, most of whom were from Singapore.
Koh answered most questions fielded at length but deferred answering some specific issues.

Koh was also subjected to numerous questions about the Indian voters in Batu Kawan who make up about 23% of the 47,378 voters. The Perai state seat in the Batu Kawan has 14,175 voters or 36% Indian voters.

Koh said he was well received by the Indian voters wherever he went.

A journalist who asked him to gauge the support from Batu Kawan Indian voters quipped: "Why don't you go and ask them? Their answers will be even more objective than me saying that they are supportive of me."

After launching the progress report, Koh left the meeting room, leaving his handphone behind. He rushed back into the room to retrieve it and press pixmen started firing the shots.

Khir: We are for all people, all issues
SHAH ALAM (Feb 27, 2008): Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo today re-launched the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto in Selangor, saying there was no need to have a separate one for the state as it would confuse the people.

“We don’t want to have so many different manifestos until people are confused,” he said after meeting candidates and division heads of the Selangor BN in the Selangor Umno headquarters here.

"Please send the message that we are for all peoples and all issues. People want land, we will give them land, we will give anything if it (the request) is reasonable,” he said.

When asked whether hot issues like development of green lungs and community issues would be best served by having a state manifesto, he said: "All the issues you are talking about are being addressed at  national level. We don’t feel we need to have a separate manifesto from the national BN."

The national BN manifesto was launched by party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday (Feb 25).

Speaking to reporters earlier, Mohamad Khir said the 2008 manifesto does not differ much from the 2004 manifesto as it is meant to be a continuity to the development plans for the state.

“Selangor has been the focus of development in this country for a long time," he said, adding that the rapid development of the state created almost 50,000 job opportunities annually.

"Now we hope that with the launch of more growth corridors across the country, it will help alleviate the congestion and overcrowding in Selangor," he added.

On the progress of the election campaign, Mohamad Khir said other than Sungai Pinang and one or two "black areas" which he declined to reveal, the BN’s chances looked bright.

“Even in Sekinchan, there were many people waving the BN flags when I visited, something which was not seen in the last elections,” he said, adding that the critical areas are quite volatile.

"Each time an issue arises, a white area may turn grey but there are many black areas that have turned white too,” he added.

Mohamad Khir was also optimistic about Batu Caves which has a high concentration of Indians and Malays, where the construction of a giant statue of the Lord Muruga became an issue.

“The statue issue has been resolved. The Malays understand the need for the statue and we respect each other. T. Mohan (the MIC candidate) is accepted by all communities as he looks out for the welfare of the Malays, Chinese and Indians,” he added.

Mohamad Khir also said the BN is not perturbed by "longkang issues" as such matters are always addressed at the pre-council stage, before the state executive council meeting.

He said the opposition is asking for an increased majority so that they can raise these issues in the state assembly.

"The state assembly is to formulate policies and more important laws, not to address these issues," added Mohamad Khir.

Mind your word, actions order to candidates
SHAH ALAM (Feb 27, 2008): Mind your words and actions as you are being watched, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo warned Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates in the state.

“We know what you are telling people, we know your movements, and we even know what time you wake up in the morning,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after launching Selangor BN’s manifesto, Mohd Khir said that he listens to tapes of ceramahs by the candidates.

"This is what I do everyday between 2am and 6am – listen to tapes of what they are saying, and I only sleep for a few hours after dawn,” he said.

"I don’t want to hear issues that can incite hatred and fights being brought up, like issues between Malays and Indians, said Mohamad Khir.

“We don’t want any finger-pointing and blame games,” he said.

"I don’t want to hear new candidates blaming the old representatives or Umno members for certain problems that had not been resolved," he added.

Everyone has their limitations and if there is a problem we will work towards a solution, said Mohamad Khir.

For instance if there were land titles which were promised but not given to the people concerned, maybe there was a reason for this so we should work towards a solution and not point fingers at others, he said.