The Star
Analysis by Joceline Tan
Analysis by Joceline Tan
MANY Umno members who flocked to Bagan Pinang to help in the by-election campaign said it felt like the good old days when victory was assured.
It has been some time since the Umno rank-and-file had such a smooth and successful outing.
Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad’s landslide win is a crucial and timely boost for Umno’s morale, coming just days before the party’s general assembly.
He overwhelmed PAS’ Zulkefly Mohamad Omar with a 5,435 majority, surpassing even the landslide win of the Barisan Nasional in its golden year of 2004.
“Winning this has been very important for us. It is a turning point,” said Dr Faizal Tajuddin of the Pasir Salak Umno division.
Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Hasan said: “It is Negri Sembilan’s vote of confidence for the Prime Minister.”
The pint-sized Isa was probably feeling 10 feet tall when the results were announced last night and he is guaranteed of a hero’s welcome when he shows up for the Umno general assembly on Thursday. He has gone from zero to hero.
But there was also a bittersweet taste to the win because of the controversy over his suspension for money politics in Umno several years ago.
No matter how Umno tries to spin it, the fact remains that he is a politician with baggage. Party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has to defend his decision to pick Isa as a candidate even while he was in Paris attending an international meeting.
The issue of Isa and Bagan Pinang is best seen as a cautionary tale in politics, that politicians have to be above board in their actions to avoid awkward situations.
Isa’s comeback was an exception because of his extensive track record, personality and popularity among the locals.
His hardcore supporters saw the by-election as a vindication because they have always believed that his suspension by Umno was engineered by his rivals.
But the Umno leadership will be less likely to close an eye to any other person with a similar predicament.
The contest was skewed in the Barisan’s favour from the moment Isa was named as the candidate.
Even state DAP chief Anthony Loke admitted that the Pakatan Rakyat campaign only picked up pace much later.
“The challenge for us is the postal votes. We have no access to the army camp,” said Loke.
Moreover, PAS has only four branches in the area and was handicapped by a lack of local party machinery. Their campaigners were unfamiliar with the ground and there was no voter profiling to speak off. They were relying on their ceramah which, however, did not stir much interest.
Their ceramah only started attracting the crowd after four or five days when big guns like Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim rolled into town.
Anwar’s star billing drew in the most multi-racial crowd. It was an eye-opener for PAS to find only lukewarm interest among the Malays for their top leaders like Datuk Seri Hadi Awang.
But Isa was not afraid to go into areas which had previously voted against Barisan.
He would ask them: “Tell me, why you don’t support me? What do you want? Is it because I am not tall enough? Sorry I can’t do anything about my height.”
At this point everyone would be roaring with laughter.
Then he would continue to even louder guffaws: “You better tell while I am still in this world or I will keep asking you in the next world. Please support me. I am now alone (his wife died of cancer three years ago), I will have a lot of time for the area. Previously, I had less time because there was someone disturbing me at night.”
Part of PAS’ problem has to do with pragmatism of a population that subsisted on the tourism industry.
Many families in Bagan Pinang have one or more members working in the tourism trade and they instinctively know that PAS is not going to be as supportive of tourism as Isa would given the numerous instances of PAS politicians protesting against anything that spells of fun or entertainment.
Zulkefly’s reluctance to state his stand on some of these issues worried the voters.
The people are unsure that if he would be able to develop this touristy town and bring in more businesses and visitors.
Zulkefly is a cut above the average PAS politician. He is well-educated, is not removed from worldly issues and concerns unlike some PAS politicians who are only equipped with religious education.
He would have done well in another situation and against another candidate. But this was not his moment and there was no way he could have beaten a heavyweight like Isa.
The added satisfaction for Isa was that the Indian support swung overwhelmingly to Barisan, proving that he has a good relationship with them.
The special attention showered on the army camps by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister doubled Barisan’s majority among the postal votes from about 1,300 to 2,880.
“Isa is just too popular. Everybody knows him and he also knows everybody,” said one journalist in summing up Isa’s phenomenal win.
Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Hasan said: “It is Negri Sembilan’s vote of confidence for the Prime Minister.”
The pint-sized Isa was probably feeling 10 feet tall when the results were announced last night and he is guaranteed of a hero’s welcome when he shows up for the Umno general assembly on Thursday. He has gone from zero to hero.
But there was also a bittersweet taste to the win because of the controversy over his suspension for money politics in Umno several years ago.
No matter how Umno tries to spin it, the fact remains that he is a politician with baggage. Party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has to defend his decision to pick Isa as a candidate even while he was in Paris attending an international meeting.
The issue of Isa and Bagan Pinang is best seen as a cautionary tale in politics, that politicians have to be above board in their actions to avoid awkward situations.
Isa’s comeback was an exception because of his extensive track record, personality and popularity among the locals.
His hardcore supporters saw the by-election as a vindication because they have always believed that his suspension by Umno was engineered by his rivals.
But the Umno leadership will be less likely to close an eye to any other person with a similar predicament.
The contest was skewed in the Barisan’s favour from the moment Isa was named as the candidate.
Even state DAP chief Anthony Loke admitted that the Pakatan Rakyat campaign only picked up pace much later.
“The challenge for us is the postal votes. We have no access to the army camp,” said Loke.
Moreover, PAS has only four branches in the area and was handicapped by a lack of local party machinery. Their campaigners were unfamiliar with the ground and there was no voter profiling to speak off. They were relying on their ceramah which, however, did not stir much interest.
Their ceramah only started attracting the crowd after four or five days when big guns like Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim rolled into town.
Anwar’s star billing drew in the most multi-racial crowd. It was an eye-opener for PAS to find only lukewarm interest among the Malays for their top leaders like Datuk Seri Hadi Awang.
But Isa was not afraid to go into areas which had previously voted against Barisan.
He would ask them: “Tell me, why you don’t support me? What do you want? Is it because I am not tall enough? Sorry I can’t do anything about my height.”
At this point everyone would be roaring with laughter.
Then he would continue to even louder guffaws: “You better tell while I am still in this world or I will keep asking you in the next world. Please support me. I am now alone (his wife died of cancer three years ago), I will have a lot of time for the area. Previously, I had less time because there was someone disturbing me at night.”
Part of PAS’ problem has to do with pragmatism of a population that subsisted on the tourism industry.
Many families in Bagan Pinang have one or more members working in the tourism trade and they instinctively know that PAS is not going to be as supportive of tourism as Isa would given the numerous instances of PAS politicians protesting against anything that spells of fun or entertainment.
Zulkefly’s reluctance to state his stand on some of these issues worried the voters.
The people are unsure that if he would be able to develop this touristy town and bring in more businesses and visitors.
Zulkefly is a cut above the average PAS politician. He is well-educated, is not removed from worldly issues and concerns unlike some PAS politicians who are only equipped with religious education.
He would have done well in another situation and against another candidate. But this was not his moment and there was no way he could have beaten a heavyweight like Isa.
The added satisfaction for Isa was that the Indian support swung overwhelmingly to Barisan, proving that he has a good relationship with them.
The special attention showered on the army camps by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister doubled Barisan’s majority among the postal votes from about 1,300 to 2,880.
“Isa is just too popular. Everybody knows him and he also knows everybody,” said one journalist in summing up Isa’s phenomenal win.
No comments:
Post a Comment