Split over personalities
(The Malay Mail) – THE abundance of candidates for the upcoming Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election in Perak has given Barisan Nasional a selection headache.
The problem of who to field is compounded even more by the fact that the Bukit Gantang Umno division members themselves are split in their choice over who would best spearhead BN’s campaign to reclaim the seat.
So far, three names have been bandied about as potential candidates, with the division members
torn over the credentials and attributes needed to make their campaign a successful one.
The three are division head Datuk Rosli Hussein, who is also the Trong State assemblyman;
deputy division head Kamalulail Sulaiman and division member Ismail Suffian.
Rosli had in the past actively spoken out on the need to have a local as the candidate, even to the extent of volunteering to be the candidate if there was no one else.
However, party insiders believe that placing Rosli as the candidate would not be deemed acceptable to some Umno members, as he is already a State assemblyman.
“I don’t see how he can serve the people effectively as he already has his hands full serving the biggest State seat in the parliamentary constituency,” observed one insider.
The Trong area spans about 504 sq km, compared with the other two State seat which are Changkat Jering (84 sq km) and Kuala Sepetang (200 sq km).
Although Trong has the largest area, it also has the lowest number of registered voters, numbering around 11,000. This pales in comparison with Kuala Sepetang, which has 19,500 voters, and Changkat Jering, which has 25,000 voters.
The total Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency covers 804 sq km with some 55,562 registered voters.
Meanwhile, Kamalulail, despite being labeled a “muhibbah” candidate, is still an untested
commodity, said an Umno branch chairman who requested anonymity.
He said that despite Kamalulai’s reputation as someone approachable by all the communities, as he is currently being introduced to the Chinese community by Gerakan, the chairman feels that he is not ready to be accepted by the Malays as yet.
“He is new and had just assumed the deputy division head post. He also isn’t quite known among the voters, only to Umno division members. He may not be quite ready to be fielded for a task of this magnitude,” he said.
However, Ismail, the third name being bandied about, is said to be popular among Umno members and locals alike. Former secretary to Kerian and Manjung town councils, Ismail had quit the overnment service to enter politics but failed in his bid to win the Bukit Gantang Umno division chief post in last year’s November division election.
Ismail lost to Rosli by a 30-vote margin. The importance of having a local candidate has not been lost on the BN leadership, which had clarified that a local would be fielded to avoid drawing wrath from the division members as well as local voters, as Malays comprise 64 per cent of the Bukit Gantang voter composition.
The perils of using a “parachute” candidate is now well-known to BN. In the March 2008 general election, BN fielded Umno treasurer Datuk Azim Mohd Zabidi, which resulted in some division members choosing to “stay away” from the polls.
Many Umno division members said fielding a local is a good strategy but the “who” is what counts.
“In the Kuala Terengganu by-election, BN fielded a local but it was the wrong choice. Here in Bukit Gantang, we do not want to make the same mistake,” said another Umno branch chairman.
The BN leadership has some three weeks left to decide as nomination date for the by-election
is fixed for March 29.
