In the face of defeat, Pakatan kicks off Bagan Pinang campaign

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

PORT DICKSON, Sept 17 — The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) last night launched its campaign for the Bagan Pinang by-election with its leaders expressing confidence that the coalition will win the decisive postal votes should polling in army camps and police stations be conducted fairly.

There are 13,664 voters in the state constituency, with postal voters making up more than one-third or some 4,600 of the electorate.

The Bagan Pinang vote is widely expected to end PR’s winning streak in all by-elections in the peninsula since last year's general election due to the high number of postal voters which are traditionally considered a reliable vote bank for the Barisan Nasional (BN).

Anwar at last night’s ceramah. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

“I have a lot of friends in the army, I know where they stand,” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told a rally in the coastal village of Kampung Si Rusa near here last night.

The opposition leader reiterated PR’s stand for greater transparency in the postal voting process, traditionally conducted without the presence of polling agents from political parties.

“They want to vote Umno or they want to support us it’s their right; the Election Commission should defend this right,” said Anwar to some 1,000 villagers.

Negri Sembilan PAS chief Zulkefli Omar said he was confident the party would obtain more postal votes this time to win the ninth by-election since last year’s general election.

“On March 8 we managed to get 1,189 or 25 per cent of the postal votes; this time we are going to win the postal votes,” said Zulkefli, who is one of the potential candidates for the by-election.

The federal opposition is expected to face highly influential former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, making the fight even tougher.

Despite his tainted past, PR leaders did not touch on Isa’s suspension from Umno for vote buying, suggesting the coalition’s acknowledgement of the Teluk Kemang Umno chief’s strong grip on the constituency.

“Whether he becomes the candidate or not is not an issue for us,” said Anwar, repeating his stand that PR will only attack BN on policy matters.

A section of the crowd at last night’s ceramah.

Nomination for the Bagan Pinang by-election will be on Oct 3 while polling has been set for Oct 11.

The by-election was called following the death on Sept 4 of Umno’s Azman Mohammad Noor, who defeated PAS’s Ramli Ismail by some 2,000 votes last year.

Bagan Pinang is an Umno stronghold situated within the Teluk Kemang parliamentary constituency represented by PKR’s Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas.

Apart from Bagan Pinang, Umno also won the neighbouring Linggi state seat in last year’s election, while PR controls three other state seats in Teluk Kemang — Chuah (PKR), Lukut (DAP) and Port Dickson (PKR).