12 Dec, 2008
It appears that the selection of candidates may end up widening existing cracks in both parties. It is not going to be easy for Umno and Pas to decide. While supporters' expectations need to be satisfied, the expectations of voters are equally important.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times
The Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat has never been a sure bet for any party, as both Pas and Umno know only too well.
FIELDING winnable candidates is usually the top priority for political parties in any electoral battle.
This should also be the case with the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election, scheduled for Jan 17. A total of 80,229 registered voters, comprising 79,194 ordinary voters and 1,035 postal voters, are expected to choose a new parliamentary representative following the death of deputy education minister Datuk Razali Ismail on Nov 28.
Before they go to the ballot box, many would have made up their minds on who they think will best take care of their well-being. Will the candidate fight for their rights at the state and federal levels?
Will he have the patience to listen to their grouses? Is he down-to-earth and approachable? Is he stingy with money?
These are among the common considerations before a voter makes that all-important cross on a ballot paper. It is, therefore, vital that a party selects a candidate who meets most, if not all, of the voters' principal criteria.
But voters also include party members, who must be happy with the candidate their party selects. It is well known that candidates often lose their seats not because the party is weak but because they are sabotaged by dissatisfied party members.
This by-election will be no exception. "Peteh keting", the Terengganu version of Kelantan's infamous "chah keting" will be in play, especially if Umno and Pas fail to nominate a good candidate who is well liked by the locals.
There is already bickering over the popular belief that Umno is keen to field senator Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, the Kuala Terengganu Umno chief, as its candidate.
There are fears that the deputy home minister's association with one of the unpopular projects in Terengganu -- the Monsoon Cup, in which his elder brother, former state executive councillor Datuk Wan Hisham, was directly involved -- will be a liability to Umno.
Wan Hisham was ousted as Ladang assemblyman last March by Pas' Datuk Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar, who won the state seat by 31 votes.
Wan Ahmad Farid's close links with outgoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's family has always been an issue with locals.
Umno also has to appease supporters of former menteri besar Datuk Idris Jusoh, who still wields clout in Terengganu Umno and is itching to get back at present Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said for their tussle for the post following the March 8 general election.
Internal bickering continues in Terengganu Umno over several issues, including the menteri besar's move to forbid his state exco members contesting in Umno divisional elections. Umno is in a dilemma, as selecting either a pro-Ahmad or a pro-Idris candidate could weaken the party's local election machinery.
Pas launched its by-election machinery yesterday but its leaders, too, continue to differ on who should be the party's candidate. While many Pakatan Rakyat leaders are keen to get the "more liberal" Mohamad Sabu to contest, conservative Terengganu Pas leaders are not keen on the "outsider".
They argue that Mohamad failed in the last general election and, therefore, should not be given a second chance. Moreover, the party's general election post-mortem found that Mohamad, who is a Pas vice-president, was rejected because he was not a local.
And this despite him being a formidable opponent by any measure: a seasoned politician, powerful orator and a well-known opposition figure.
Pas supporters in Terengganu are less accommodating to outsiders than their counterparts in Kelantan, who have few qualms supporting a parachute candidate, especially if he's a national leader.
Pas deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, then party secretary-general, was imported from Yan, Kedah to contest in Besut in 2004, where he only managed 17,587 votes to Datuk Abdullah Mohd Zin's 26,087. Nasharuddin moved again to contest in Bachok last March, where he ousted then deputy finance minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin by a 2,896-vote majority.
Terengganu Pas, led by Datuk Mustaffa Ali, badly wants to wrest the Kuala Terengganu seat that Mohamad Sabu lost by a slim majority. Mustaffa, his deputy Datuk Wan Abdul Muttalib Embong, and Batu Burok assemblyman Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi have all been mentioned as possible candidates.
Wan Muttalib, the former Batu Burok assemblyman, had been considered as a possible candidate for the KT seat in the general election, but was replaced with Mohamad.
Terengganu Pas youth has also proposed a political unknown and reserve candidate for the 2013 general election -- Dr Mohd Khazani Abdullah, 40; a businessman, former Universiti Putra Malaysia lecturer and adjunct professor at a private university.
It appears that the selection of candidates may end up widening existing cracks in both parties. It is not going to be easy for Umno and Pas to decide. While supporters' expectations need to be satisfied, the expectations of voters are equally important. Moreover, the late Razali had set a very high bar: he was a very popular MP, serving his constituents regardless of political affiliation.
Kuala Terengganu is one of the classic swing seats in Malaysia; not a safe seat for either BN or the opposition. The parliamentary seat, always a traditional battleground of Umno and Pas, went from being a BN seat in 1986, winning with majority 3,324 votes, to a Semangat 46 seat in 1990 (majority 1,880).
It then reverted to BN in 1995 (majority 4,852) before going to Pas in 1999 (majority 14,488) and then back to the BN again in 2004 (majority 1,933).
BN retained the seat in the 2008 elections (majority 628).
Both Umno and Pas, therefore, have to treat this seat with caution. Perhaps letting voters know their candidate in advance would be an advantage, as the electorate -- 88 per cent Malay and about 11 per cent Chinese -- would have time to consider which prospective MP they think would be better.
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