Tuan Ibrahim’s Rompin feat puts pressure on Mat Sabu in Permatang Pauh
The Malaysian Insider
PAS’s success in almost halving Barisan Nasional (BN)’s majority in the latter’s own stronghold of Rompin in the seat’s by-election yesterday is good news for Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the party’s vice-president who was also director for the by-election.
It now puts pressure on PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who is the party’s director for the Permatang Pauh by-election, to produce similar results.
How PAS and Mohamad, popularly known as Mat Sabu, perform in Permatang Pauh which goes to the polls tomorrow, will be watched as he and Tuan Ibrahim are expected to compete for the PAS deputy president’s post at the forthcoming party elections in June.
The PAS election committee yesterday confirmed that both leaders are eligible to compete for the deputy presidency, along with Datuk Husam Musa and Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah. Many think the contest will narrow down to Mat Sabu and Tuan Ibrahim, should the latter accept the nominations for the deputy presidency.
Tuan Ibrahim has received 94 nominations for the post while Mat Sabu has only managed 12 nominations so far.
In the Rompin by-election yesterday, PAS candidate Nazri Ahmad reduced BN’s majority from 15,114 votes in the general election two years ago to an 8,895 vote majority.
Nazri polled 14,901 votes while BN’s Datuk Hasan Arifin obtained 23,796 votes.
This is a 40% drop in BN’s majority compared to the general election.
Mat Sabu, meanwhile, faces increasing pressure in Permatang Pauh due to acts of “sabotage” from factions within PAS itself.
There were threats that certain PAS grassroots would not aid PKR’s campaign in Permatang Pauh unless the party apologised to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang for accusing him of working with arch rival, Umno.
At the same time, Mat Sabu is coming under open attack from some supporters of the party’s ulama (clerics) faction, who support Hadi’s leadership and who take a more defiant stance against allies in Pakatan Rakyat.
These more conservative supporters have been dealt with by Tuan Ibrahim, as evidenced in his handling of the anonymous Facebook page Tuc Tok Usin Ceroi. The page has since become largely dormant.
