Big turnout may tip the balance
By Zubaidah Abu Bakar (NST)
TODAY, voters in Permatang Pasir, the state seat that has been in Pas' clutches for 10 years, will show if they are indeed ready for change.
A total of 20,290 electors are eligible to decide between Barisan Nasional candidate Rohaizat Othman and Penang Pas commissioner Mohd Salleh Man to be their new representative in the Penang state assembly.
The new Permatang Pasir assemblyman will take over the task of serving the constituents from where the late Datuk Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman had left.
A substantial number of voters have already made up their minds even before the candidates were officially named by the Election Commission. These are the staunch supporters of BN and Pas, who will not shift their support based on issues that both parties have been harping on in the last eight days.
The BN and Pas thus focused their campaign on the fence-sitters to tip the balance to their side.
From day one of campaign, the main issue of contention has been the controversy surrounding Rohaizat's disbarment from the Bar Council.
It has put Ummo on the defensive and scrambling to do damage control till the eleventh hour.
How much the issue of Rohaizat's candidacy will affect fence-sitters' decision is hard to predict as Pas had butchered his reputation by going to town about his dishonesty in handling a client's account, as well as of his personal life.
Pas is, of course, buoyed by the fact that Permatang Pasir is in the home ground of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the MP for Permatang Pauh, under which Permatang Pasir is one of the three state seats.
Anwar chalked a landslide victory in the Parmatang Pauh by-election in August last year and his support in the area is said to be intact, even with the sodomy charge hanging over his head and allegations of being a traitor to the Malays.
He had been appealing to those who had voted for him to give their votes to the Pas candidate during his nightly ceramah.
The main issues against the BN ranged from the alleged toppling of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak and the death of Teoh Beng Hock to the fiasco of the Port Klang Free Zone project.
BN and its massive machinery, could have also gained traction on the ground when its leaders highlighted the fraying relations between Pakatan Rakyat leaders and problems in states the opposition alliance now rules.
Issues like the handling of Kampung Lorong Buah Pala problems by the DAP-led Penang government, the corruption probes against Selangor assemblymen, the sale of beer in Selangor and Lunas assemblyman Mohd Radzhi Salleh quitting PKR to become an independent lawmaker in Kedah, all show that things are not well in the Pakatan camp either.
Vigorous campaigning by BN leaders, led by BN deputy chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, should have gained the coalition some ground.
The BN has also promised voters to make Permatang Pasir the Federal Government's anak emas or golden child, if it wins.
Voter turnout at the polling stations today could affect the winning chances of both sides.
A higher turnout will be good news for the BN. A low turnout will affect Pas' performance.
Pas has projected that it would be lower than the 82.57 per cent recorded during last year's general election since polling is on a working day.
Unlike the Permatang Pauh by-election, which also fell on a Tuesday, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng did not declare today a public holiday.
Some 72.36 per cent of the Permatang Pasir electorate are Malays, 25.85 per cent Chinese, 1.63 per cent Indians and 0.16 per cent others.
They will decide whether the blue or green flag will fly high in Permatang Pasir.
