Still second best in race for Malay votes
PAS vice-president and Pahang chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in a press conference after the announcement of result admitted that it was difficult to win the votes in the Federal Reserve Land Authority (Felda) settlements, which is key to breaking Umno’s grip on the Malays.
Muda Mohd. Noor and Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today
The defeat in the by-election here and in Merlimau, Malacca, for PAS will force its leaders to reconsider their position and wake up from their delusion that the Malay voters are with the Islamist party.
Before the Kerdau and Merlimau contests, PAS leaders along with their fellow Pakatan Rakyat partners were boasting that they were capable of upsetting the status quo, that is, reduce Barisan Nasional’s (BN) majority.
At about 8pm yesterday, PAS was proven wrong. Far from the prediction of its optimistic leaders, the results revealed an increase in BN’s majority votes. It wasn’t just a minor increase – both by-elections passed the 2,500-vote mark.
The defeat in Malay-majority Merlimau means PAS had no representation in Malacca since the first post-independence national polls in 1955.
Meanwhile, in Pahang, the Islamist party merely has two state seats, Semerah and Kuala Semantan, which it won in the 2008 general election. The defeat in Kerdau was clear proof that its intense effort to infiltrate the home-state of the prime minister is futile.
In Kerdau, BN candidate Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad, who is Kuala Krau Umno division deputy chief, won with a staggering 5,060 votes against Hassanuddin Salim of PAS who garnered 2,336 votes.
That’s 2,724 more, almost double the increase from the 1,615 gained by BN’s incumbent Zaharuddin Abu Kassim whose death triggered the by-election. What this means is simple: PAS’ influence in Pahang is not as strong as it claimed to have.
What is more surprising is that PAS did not win in a single polling stream.
PAS vice-president and Pahang chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in a press conference after the announcement of result admitted that it was difficult to win the votes in the Federal Reserve Land Authority (Felda) settlements, which is key to breaking Umno’s grip on the Malays.
About 4,000 out of 8,999 registered voters here come from the three Felda settlements.
But to give credit where it is due, PAS only lost slightly below 200 votes as compared to its performance in the 2008 national polls, meaning that there was no swing in PAS support towards its rivals.
The BN victory was attributed to its superior campaign machinery which went into overdrive to mobilise BN supporters to come out and vote. The voter turnout was higher by 3% from the 80% in 2008, which was the reason behind the increase in BN’s majority.
‘Blind’ support
But what is surprising is the “blind” support for the BN. Development is lagging. The state has been in debt for 12 consecutive years and despite the BN being in power since the nation gained independence in 1957, much of the state, including the urban areas, remains far behind in terms of economic development.
But the voters in Kerdau remain loyal to BN. Amid a flurry of exposure of Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yackob’s alleged weak governance, voters are not one bit disturbed. BN is the government of the day and only BN can solve their problems. It’s a practical choice.
Efforts by PAS to infiltrate Felda through its Anak outfit also showed that PAS and Pakatan have a long way to go still before they can claim to have the slightest support from these settlers.
