PERMATANG PAUH: Penang PKR chief Mansor Othman, who avoided a potential embarassment at the Permatang Pauh division polls, must be grateful to party supremo Anwar Ibrahim.
If not for the opposition leader and Permatang Pauh MP's timely intervention, the Penang deputy chief minister could be licking his wounds due to a defeat in the contest for division deputy chief.
The division is headed by Anwar's wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
As expected, Anwar denied pressuring Che Mat Hashim, the outgoing incumbent deputy chief, to withdraw his candidacy at the eleventh hour.
But many PKR members do not believe this.
“If not for Anwar, Che Mat would not have withdrawn,” they insisted.
Sunday's contest was described as a David and Goliath match-up between the high profile Mansor, also the Penanti assemblyman and Che Mat, who is known to locals as “Pak Tam”.
'Defeat would have been a slap in the face'
Mansor shifted his party membership to Permatang Pauh some three months ago to be closer with his constituents after relinquishing his chairman post in the Balik Pulau division.
Originally, the deputy chairman contest could have been a three-cornered fight when division secretary Roselai Muhamad joined the fray, only to withdraw later following strong persuasion by Anwar.
Though he started as the favourite due to his positions and closeness to Anwar, Mansor found it tough in this semi urban constituency as local sentiments against an “outsider” were strong.
But the much anticipated political battle turned out to be an anti-climax when Che Mat faxed his withdrawal letter to the party headquarters on Saturday night, citing deteriorating health condition as the reason.
Party insiders had predicted an upset win for Che Mat, 63.
Their argument gained ground when teacher Alias Said from Che Mat’s camp drew 127 votes to defeat nearest challenger from Mansor’s camp, incumbent Zainal Abidin Saad, who received 72 votes. Third contestant Ramli Bulat came in third with 20 votes.
Apart from this, all nominees from Mansor’s faction lost in the 15 elected-member committee contest, which were all won by Che Mat’s camp.
'Democracy sacrificed to safeguard a leader's ego'
Mansor, 60, could have lost his legitimacy as state party chief if he had lost in the contest and this would have rendered a blow to his amibition of becoming an elected vice-president.
Anwar did not want this fate to befall the man he had handpicked as deputy chief minister. A defeat for Mansor in Permatang Pauh would have been a slap in the face for Anwar.
However, several local pundits claimed that Mansor could take little pride in a “backdoor” victory orchestrated by Anwar.
Political commentator Amizudin Ahmat, known as Din Binjai to the folks here, urged Anwar to take note of Mansor’s “battered” political standing among the people of Permatang Pauh.
“The democratic process and people’s will have been sacrificed just to protect a leader’s ego,” summed up another local observer in his blog Anak Sungai Derhaka.
The division chief Wan Azizah, and incumbent youth chief Amir Ghazali, also the state PKR youth leader, have retained their respective positions unchallenged.
Sarina Hashim became the new women’s wing chief uncontested, replacing outgoing Khatijah Yahaya.
Results from other contests
Meanwhile, a state representative and two councillors lost, while a councillor triumphed in three other PKR divisional polls held on Sunday.
Bukit Tengah elected representative Ong Chin Wen lost to Abu Mansor Md Noor for the Batu Kawan deputy chairman post. The outgoing division youth chief Ong drew 120 votes against Mansor’s 142.
For the youth wing chief contest, Dr Rajen Naidu got 77 votes to defeat councillor in Seberang Perai Municipality (MPSP) Goh Choon Aik, who received 52 votes.
For the women’s wing chief post, Dr Joyce Lee Yueh Choo got 46 votes to see off incumbent Asmah Sultan, who garnered 33 votes.
Incumbent chairman Law Choo Liang, also a Pakatan Rakyat state government executive councillor and Bukit Tambun assemblyman, retained his post unopposed, while Naserruddin Abdullah was elected unopposed as the new vice-chairman.
In Kepala Batas, incumbent division chairman and MPSP councillor Zaini Awang lost to his close friend Abdul Latif Abdullah by only five votes. Zaini gained 88 votes against Latif’s 93.
For the deputy chairman post, challenger Ab Rahman Romli secured 89 votes to unseat incumbent Adnan Jamaluddin who got 74 votes, while in the heated vice-chairman battle, P Gunasekaran garnered 90 votes to see off Goon Weng Him by a single vote margin.
Mohd Azhar Che Saad won unchallenged the division youth chief post while there was no contest for the women wing chief post. The new leadership would appoint a women leader soon.
In the Bagan divsion, incumbent chairman and MPSP councillor Ahmad Farid Md Arshad received 69 votes to beat division secretary Mohd Mahzlan Md Ghani (29 votes) and Lim Yeong Li (15 votes).
For the youth chief post, Steven Tan Nee Aik secured 36 votes to defeat Ahmad Johaniff Mohd Majidin who got 11 votes.
For other positions, incumbents deputy chairman Abu Othman Abu Hassan and vice-chairman lawyer P Prabhakaran were returned unopposed, while Siti Hajar Abdul Hamid was elected unchallenged as the new women leader, replacing outgoing Rohaya Zakaria.
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