The Message from Manik Urai: PAS and Pakatan Rakyat must deliver and avoid complacency

Comment:

As I have said before, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not sleepwalker Badawi from Kepala Batas. He is a seasoned UMNO politician groomed for high political office at an early age by his late father Tun  Abdul Razak.  Well brought up in the traditions of UMNO’s patronage system–a disadvantage in many respects which has yet to be exploited to good effect–Najib is aristocratic, smart, urbane, and hardworking.

To top it all, he has the power of premiership and a group of formidable  political and economic advisors including military and special branch top brass around him. He is thus a force to be reckoned with given the array of executive powers at  his disposal. As such, he is no easy political meat.

The whisker margin of victory in Manik Urai shows us that Najib’s latest moves on the policy front, largely a rehash of PKR’s Manifesto which caught the imagination of the Rakyat in March, 2008, resonate with the people. At the same time, the perceived disunity within Pakatan Rakyat, especially within PAS, and the ongoing MACC’s selective investigations against Pakatan ADUNs have a telling effect on voter sentiment and public perception.

Confidence in the long term viability of Pakatan as a coalition, it must be admitted, is waning. In this regard, we cannot discount the role of the mainstream media in demonising Pakatan Rakyat and reimaging UMNO-Barisan and the marketing of Najib’s  Satu Malaysia.

One has reason to believe that complacency has set in Pakatan. It now must refocus. It is time that, as suggested by Dato Zaid Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat secretariat  is strengthened to support a more formal Council of Leaders. Specific attention must be given to public relations and communications to deal with local problems in the Pakatan governed states, and national issues.

The message must consistent with action. Promises made to the people must be delivered. The honeymoon  for Pakatan Rakyat is over. Disillusionment is setting in and Pakatan must prepare itself for a possible snap elections any time in 2010. This time around, things will be tough as we are dealing with the politically savvy Najib who is quick to use the power of the Internet to reach a new generation of voters.–Din Merican

www.theedgemalaysia.com
July 14, 2009

Manik Urai: PAS wins by a whisker

by Sharon Tan in Kuala Krai

PAS has retained the Manek Urai state assembly seat, but its razor-thin majority of 65 votes was a surprise to many.

PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah secured victory by garnering 5,348 votes, edging Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat who obtained 5,283 votes. A high voter turnout of 87.33% saw both PAS and BN obtaining more votes compared to the last general election.

PAS’ Manek Urai by-election operation director Abdul Fatah Harun had predicted yesterday afternoon that the party would win by some 2,000 votes. When the results of the counts began to flow in, it became clear that the prediction was overly optimistic.

Speaking after the final result was announced, Kuala Krai MP Dr Hatta Ramli said one should not underestimate the effect of all the promises made by BN. “The bridge is too tempting. The voters may be partisan but they are also influenced,” he said in reference to the promise made by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin had said the BN government would build a new bridge in Manek Urai if the party were to win the seat. Both Manek Urai Baru and Manek Urai Lama, which had been a PAS stronghold, threw their support behind BN.

Hatta said the party now needed to consolidate and the new assemblyman had to perform according to the wishes of the people. Asked if the slim win was due to the failure of the party to talk about economic development, he said PAS had always been consistent that development issues were not a staple of its campaign.

“We always talk about values, unity and Islam,” he said. Nonetheless, Hatta said he had expected the party to do better but the promises made by BN were too much to handle. “Despite (PAS) answering all questions and issues, BN still managed to convince the voters,” he said.

He also refuted the argument that PAS’ narrow win was indicative of waning support for Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

In his reaction to BN’s narrow loss, Manek Urai BN election director Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the result showed that young voters had returned to BN. However, he said UMNO had to strengthen its argument in rebutting PAS’ accusation that UMNO was not sufficiently Islamic. “We have to explain that PAS is a political party, not a religion,” he said.

Meanwhile, political analysts expressed surprise at the results and told Lam Jian Wyn that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had contributed immensely to the pulling away of support from PAS.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Prof Dato Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin believed that Najib was the pulling factor as BN had campaigned very badly and the locals disliked the candidate and leaders there.“They were also very cynical towards Muhyiddin’s announcements for more projects,” said Shamsul, who had expected a victory of 2,000 votes for PAS. “Pakatan Rakyat (PR) may claim that this is a significant victory, but this is not a moral victory for PR at all,” he added.

Duke University’s Ong Kian Ming said while most had expected the margin of victory for PAS to decrease, the eventual double-digit was a surprise to many, probably including BN. He said the narrow victory was a wake-up call for PAS as well as PR.“PAS must ask itself the extent to which the discussion of unity talks with UMNO and the schisms it created within PAS contributed to its narrow electoral victory. Pakatan must also ask itself how it can refocus its political strategy to neutralise Najib’s growing political momentum,” he said.

Ong too said Najib’s political momentum gained through his policy activism, such as the goodies and abolishing the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English policy (PPSMI).

Monash University Sunway’s  Wong Chin Huat said the results showed that UMNO had at least consolidated its votes, if not gotten the middle ground.

Gerakan think tank SEDAR executive director Khaw Veon Szu said the results were a good sign for both sides. “Manek Urai is a PAS stronghold, but with the party in disarray, it shows that they cannot take things for granted. In the interest of a democratic, two-party system, PAS must get their act together.

“For BN, it is a good sign as it shows that Najib has been pushing the right buttons, by introducing more liberalisation measures. This will encourage Najib to push forward with more of these measures and that he is sending out good messages. However, the by-election should be examined in terms of margin and which candidate is victorious. Overall, this is good for Malaysia,” he said.

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