Bukit Gantang seen as acid test for Anwar
THE fiasco of two rival menteris besar in Perak is set to come to a boil as Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat prepare for an electoral battle in Bukit Gantang.
ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR, The New Straits Times
The sudden death of Pas member of parliament Roslan Shaharum yesterday has precipitated a by-election in his constituency, which has to be held within 60 days.
With rumours of more defections swirling in Ipoh and tensions high following the BN takeover of the state government, an intense contest can be expected in Bukit Gantang.
After being blamed for losing Perak, the by-election will once again test Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's ability to bring his disparate alliance of Islamists, reformers and secularists to fight in unison against the BN machinery as they did in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu.
Pakatan Rakyat will seek to exploit unhappiness over the change of government in Perak. Sympathy votes could be gleaned if Pas were to heed the call by Perak DAP to field Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the candidate.
Nizar was deposed as menteri besar after Pakatan Rakyat lost its slim majority and Sultan Azlan Shah did not give his consent to dissolve the 59-seat state assembly.
Pas and Pakatan Rakyat supporters attempted to stop the swearing-in of BN's Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir last Friday, clamouring for snap elections to decide on a new mandate in the state.
Nizar's refusal to resign as menteri besar angered BN supporters, who accused him of treason for defying the sultan's order.
The by-election is being billed as a referendum on the unseating of the Pakatan Rakyat government by defectors, one of whom, Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, is the assemblyman for Changkat Jering, which is a state seat in Bukit Gantang.
Will he campaign in the by-election? The vote count in Changkat Jering will spell out the popularity of Osman's decision to quit the PKR.
Bukit Gantang was an Umno stronghold until last March 8 when the late Roslan defeated Umno treasurer Datuk Azim Zabidi by 1,566 votes.
The constituency has 55,471 voters, 88.2 per cent of whom are Malay, 10.9 per cent Chinese and 0.6 per cent Indian.
Because of the constituency's pro-BN history, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the deputy prime minister and Perak BN chief, will lead a strong fight to wrest back the seat.
He will want to ensure that the Umno machinery is up to the mark in what will be an intense election campaign.
He will not want Umno's campaigners to be distracted by the looming party elections next month, as had happened in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.
Umno's campaign is likely to hype the affront committed by Pakatan Rakyat leaders against the institution of the Malay rulers, which still commands respect among the people despite their political differences.
BN and Umno have to be careful when they touch on race, however, which could easily backfire against an alliance that appears to have established a strong multi-ethnic identity.
At this point, the raw public mood appears to be setting the BN an uphill task in winning back Bukit Gantang.
