‘Sabotage’ a factor in ongoing by-elections, says analyst
Zulkifli Sulong, The Malaysian Insider
Internal sabotage could play a role in determining the winner in the Rompin and Permatang Pauh by elections, political analyst Bridget Welsh said.
“In Rompin, the sabotage factor within Umno themselves will influence whether PAS will win or not, while in Permatang Pauh the sabotage factor is from PKR’s ally, PAS, will determine if the PKR candidate wins or not,” Welsh told The Malaysian Insider.
This will also determine how much of a reduced majority will be sustained by the winning party, she said.
In light of internal rifts experienced by the competing parties and their respective allies in both by-elections, Welsh said BN’s candidate, Datuk Hasan Arifin, stood to lose in Rompin if the attacks by former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad against Datuk Seri Najib Razak proved effective, besides several other factors.
While in Permatang Pauh, Welsh said the sabotage attempts by Penang PAS Youth could result in losses for PKR’s chosen candidate, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Ismail.
But the Islamist party’s state youth dropped its boycott of PKR’s campaign and said it would obey the PAS central leadership’s decision to help the campaign.
PAS’s support in Permatang Pauh is crucial, based on the constituency’s breakdown of voters.
In the last general election, it was PAS’s candidate in the Permatang Pasir state seat, Datuk Salleh Man, who helped to deliver the highest portion of majority votes for then candidate in the parliamentary seat, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar received 37,090 votes compared to BN’s candidate, Dr. Mazlan Ismail, who received 25,369 votes and independent candidate, Dr Abdullah Zawawi Samsudin, who managed only 201 votes.
Anwar’s 11,721 vote majority was largely contributed by votes in PAS’s Permatang Pasir state constituency.
Salleh had won the Permatang Pasir state seat with a 6,826 vote majority in comparison with PKR’s candidate in Seberang Jaya, Dr Afif Bahadin, who won by 2,459 votes and the party’s candidate in Penanti, Norlela Ariffin, who won a majority of only 2,339 votes.
“If they (PAS voters in Permatang Pasir) no longer support Anwar due to sabotage, even Wan Azizah could lose in the by-election,” Welsh said.
