The SunKUALA LUMPUR (Dec 9, 2008): A burning question has emerged on both sides of the political divide, revolving around Kuala Terengganu.
Will the unrealised dream of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to take over the federal government last Sept 16 cause the party to lose support and credibility and will Barisan Nasional (BN) begin to make a comeback to win the hearts and minds of voters this time around in Kuala Terengganu?
This question has come to the fore as both sides are set to square off again on Jan 17 – this time in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election, now popularly known as “The Battle of KT”. Nomination is on Jan 6.
Many political observers and analysts view this by-election as crucial in determining the current and future support for the BN and PR, reports Bernama.
The Kuala Terengganu seat fell vacant when incumbent Datuk Razali Ismail died of a heart attack on Nov 28.
In 2004, he had defeated PAS executive council member Syed Azman Syed Ahmad by 1,933 votes.
In the general election on March 8, Razali, who was the deputy education minister before his death, won by a slim 628 majority when he knocked out PAS strongman Mohammad Sabu and 89-year-old Maimun Yusuf in a three-way fight.
The Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat has always been a traditional battleground for BN (Umno) and PAS, and it will be interesting to see how both sides will woo the voters in the coming by-election, barely eight months after the general election, to prove their popularity.
PKR information chief Tian Chua said the opposition front would adopt “a sophisticated way of campaigning” based on a multiracial platform. PKR is a component party of the PR alliance, the others being PAS and DAP.
“As a mixed (or multiracial) party, we would have a slightly different campaign strategy as the needs of the urban voters are different (from the rural voters),” he said.
“It is the socio-economic background that will determine their decisions on who will be the winner, not their ethnicity.”
Tian Chua felt the “internal tussle within Terengganu Umno” could dent BN’s prospects.
Umno’s internal conflict was out in open on the selection of election candidates even before March 8 and this sparked another controversy after the elections, on the selection of the Terengganu mentri besar.
However, some Terengganu Umno members deny the notion that internal bickering will put a spanner in the works as the so-called internal problems within Terengganu Umno have been reduced significantly after the general election.
“The Kuala Terengganu Umno division is united and this was seen in the recent divisional elections,” a Kuala Terengganu Umno division committee member, who did not wish to be identified, told Bernama.
For now, the name of Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh, who is also the deputy home affairs minister, is being bandied about as the front-runner to represent BN.
Some political observers say internal bickering is a normal phenomenon in any political party as PAS also experienced similar problems in the past – between the moderates and conservatives.
For example, in the coming by-election, the moderates are said to be favouring either Mat Sabu or Datuk Mustapha Ali to contest while the conservatives prefer locals such as Wan Mutalib Embong, the Terengganu PAS deputy commissioner.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar said: “I would be lying if I said there is no struggle between the moderates and conservatives. But what is more important is that when the candidate has been decided on, all factions will abide by that decision and the party machinery will come out in full force.”
This time around, PAS has sent clear signals that it is targeting the Bandar state seat, the only state seat under the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency that was won by the BN in the general election.
Kamaruddin said PAS would increase its focus on Bandar, which comprised mainly non-Malay voters, while maintaining its edge in the Batu Burok, Wakaf Mempelam and Ladang state constituencies, which it won in March.
Terengganu MCA chairman Toh Chin Yaw is unperturbed by PAS’s ambitions as he is quietly optimistic that support from the non-Malays, particularly the 11% Chinese voters, would remain in BN’s hands.
“I think the balance of support will tilt to BN,” said Toh, who is the only Chinese executive council member in the state government.
Many political observers and analysts view this by-election as crucial in determining the current and future support for the BN and PR, reports Bernama.
The Kuala Terengganu seat fell vacant when incumbent Datuk Razali Ismail died of a heart attack on Nov 28.
In 2004, he had defeated PAS executive council member Syed Azman Syed Ahmad by 1,933 votes.
In the general election on March 8, Razali, who was the deputy education minister before his death, won by a slim 628 majority when he knocked out PAS strongman Mohammad Sabu and 89-year-old Maimun Yusuf in a three-way fight.
The Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat has always been a traditional battleground for BN (Umno) and PAS, and it will be interesting to see how both sides will woo the voters in the coming by-election, barely eight months after the general election, to prove their popularity.
PKR information chief Tian Chua said the opposition front would adopt “a sophisticated way of campaigning” based on a multiracial platform. PKR is a component party of the PR alliance, the others being PAS and DAP.
“As a mixed (or multiracial) party, we would have a slightly different campaign strategy as the needs of the urban voters are different (from the rural voters),” he said.
“It is the socio-economic background that will determine their decisions on who will be the winner, not their ethnicity.”
Tian Chua felt the “internal tussle within Terengganu Umno” could dent BN’s prospects.
Umno’s internal conflict was out in open on the selection of election candidates even before March 8 and this sparked another controversy after the elections, on the selection of the Terengganu mentri besar.
However, some Terengganu Umno members deny the notion that internal bickering will put a spanner in the works as the so-called internal problems within Terengganu Umno have been reduced significantly after the general election.
“The Kuala Terengganu Umno division is united and this was seen in the recent divisional elections,” a Kuala Terengganu Umno division committee member, who did not wish to be identified, told Bernama.
For now, the name of Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh, who is also the deputy home affairs minister, is being bandied about as the front-runner to represent BN.
Some political observers say internal bickering is a normal phenomenon in any political party as PAS also experienced similar problems in the past – between the moderates and conservatives.
For example, in the coming by-election, the moderates are said to be favouring either Mat Sabu or Datuk Mustapha Ali to contest while the conservatives prefer locals such as Wan Mutalib Embong, the Terengganu PAS deputy commissioner.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar said: “I would be lying if I said there is no struggle between the moderates and conservatives. But what is more important is that when the candidate has been decided on, all factions will abide by that decision and the party machinery will come out in full force.”
This time around, PAS has sent clear signals that it is targeting the Bandar state seat, the only state seat under the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency that was won by the BN in the general election.
Kamaruddin said PAS would increase its focus on Bandar, which comprised mainly non-Malay voters, while maintaining its edge in the Batu Burok, Wakaf Mempelam and Ladang state constituencies, which it won in March.
Terengganu MCA chairman Toh Chin Yaw is unperturbed by PAS’s ambitions as he is quietly optimistic that support from the non-Malays, particularly the 11% Chinese voters, would remain in BN’s hands.
“I think the balance of support will tilt to BN,” said Toh, who is the only Chinese executive council member in the state government.
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