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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

PAS may be buried in Pengkalan Kubor

Voters who rejected PKR in the last two elections may also reject its Pakatan partner.
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By K Harinderan
PENGKALAN KUBOR: The Pengkalan Kubor state by-elections will be a true test for PAS to prove its worth after being hit with many challenges, the most recent being the Selangor MB crisis, during which there was much unpleasantness in its relationship with PKR and DAP .
Neither does the dismal showing of PKR in the last two outings for the state seat bode well for PAS. It can be argued that the voters who rejected PKR would also reject its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partner.
One factor put forward to inspire optimism for PAS is that Pengkalan Kubor is surrounded by PAS state constituencies within the Tumpat parliamentary constituency, which is itself held by the party.
However, the last three general elections have seen Pengkalan Kubor constituents voting in a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate rather than those fielded by PR. In the last election, Noor Zahidi Omar won with a majority of 1,736 votes against PKR’s Saharun Ibrahim and independent Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary.
Noor Zahidi’s death has led to a three-corner fight between BN’s Mat Razi Mat Ail, PAS candidate Wan Rosdi Wan Ibrahim and independent candidate Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary.
It has been a slow start for PAS as campaigning began the day after the PAS Muktamar in Johor, which ended last Saturday.
The campaign is led by Wan Rosdi himself, who has been visiting voters in their homes and in restaurants and mosques. He is supported by PAS spiritual leader and former Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who has been meeting constituents despite his ill health.
The main subject of the campaign is the oil royalty issue. There have been many heated exchanges over it, mainly favouring BN, especially after Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said he was ready to expose documents proving the futility of PAS’ claims. The matter is supposed to be tabled in Parliament soon.
This by-election is the first leadership test for Menteri Besar and Kelantan PAS commissioner Ahmad Yakob.
Early grassroots sentiments have indicated that BN can still retain the seat.
Kelantan Umno chairman Mustapa Mohamed, however, prefers to play down BN’s chances. He has chosen to describe BN as the “underdog” in the contest. He has been reported as saying, “We know it will not be easy as we are the opposition in Kelantan. Our opponents are strong and have been in the state government for 24 years.”
Pengkalan Kubor has 24,039 registered voters, 92.02% of them Malays. Nearly half are below the age of 40. Among the key areas to watch is Geting, which has 3,355 voters of Siamese descent. It is said that they can swing the result either way.

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