KUALA LUMPUR - Malay rights group Perkasa has opted to stay out of the Galas by-election, in a move that may give Umno a much-needed edge over PAS in the Islamist party’s Kelantan fortress.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the decision was made as the group had yet to receive the green light from the ruling party to join Barisan Nasional’s (BN) campaign in the crucial vote, set for November 4.
There is also talk of Umno’s fear that any further association with Perkasa would cause a fracture in its support base and affect its chances in the ballot box.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, often seen as the thorn in the side of the Najib administration, gave his assurance in a text message last night that none of its members would join the Galas campaign in their capacity as Perkasa members.
“Perkasa will not be involved in any campaign whatsoever in Galas,” the Pasir Mas MP firmly said.
The independent MP, however, allowed that Perkasa members still had their rights to join the campaign trail as individuals or members of political parties.
More than half of Perkasa’s claimed 300,000 membership base are said to be Umno members.
Ibrahim, a former Umno man who had won his Kelantan seat in Election 2008 on a PAS ticket, also revealed that he would also make an appearance in Galas in his capacity as a lawmaker.
“Just like me, I will go there to monitor or to give my opinions, but as an independent MP and not under the name of Perkasa president.
“I stress here that Perkasa, as an organisation, will not be involved in any campaign, whatsoever,” he said.
In the last Kelantan by-election in Manek Urai, Umno dropped jaws when it successfully reduced PAS’s vote-majority to a wafer-thin 65 votes, down from the 1,352 majority it had scored in the 2008 general election.
Umno has yet to name its candidate for the by-election but many leaders have promoted Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the best choice.
To date, however, the Kelantan prince has sidestepped the matter but has accepted the post of BN election director for the Galas polls.
The Galas state seat fell vacant after PAS lawmaker Che Hashim Sulaima died from colon cancer on September 27, triggering the country’s 12th by-election since Election 2008.
During Election 2008, Che Hashim won Galas with 4,399 votes, defeating incumbent Saufi Deraman.
In that general election, PAS was able to capture 38 of the 45 state seats in Kelantan while BN won six and PKR managed one.
The Malays make up 61.63 per cent of the 11,553 voters in the state constituency, while the Chinese have 20.08 per cent, Indians 1.6 per cent, and other communities are approximately 17 per cent of the electorate.
11/10/10
The Malaysian Insider understands that the decision was made as the group had yet to receive the green light from the ruling party to join Barisan Nasional’s (BN) campaign in the crucial vote, set for November 4.
There is also talk of Umno’s fear that any further association with Perkasa would cause a fracture in its support base and affect its chances in the ballot box.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, often seen as the thorn in the side of the Najib administration, gave his assurance in a text message last night that none of its members would join the Galas campaign in their capacity as Perkasa members.
“Perkasa will not be involved in any campaign whatsoever in Galas,” the Pasir Mas MP firmly said.
The independent MP, however, allowed that Perkasa members still had their rights to join the campaign trail as individuals or members of political parties.
More than half of Perkasa’s claimed 300,000 membership base are said to be Umno members.
Ibrahim, a former Umno man who had won his Kelantan seat in Election 2008 on a PAS ticket, also revealed that he would also make an appearance in Galas in his capacity as a lawmaker.
“Just like me, I will go there to monitor or to give my opinions, but as an independent MP and not under the name of Perkasa president.
“I stress here that Perkasa, as an organisation, will not be involved in any campaign, whatsoever,” he said.
In the last Kelantan by-election in Manek Urai, Umno dropped jaws when it successfully reduced PAS’s vote-majority to a wafer-thin 65 votes, down from the 1,352 majority it had scored in the 2008 general election.
Umno has yet to name its candidate for the by-election but many leaders have promoted Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the best choice.
To date, however, the Kelantan prince has sidestepped the matter but has accepted the post of BN election director for the Galas polls.
The Galas state seat fell vacant after PAS lawmaker Che Hashim Sulaima died from colon cancer on September 27, triggering the country’s 12th by-election since Election 2008.
During Election 2008, Che Hashim won Galas with 4,399 votes, defeating incumbent Saufi Deraman.
In that general election, PAS was able to capture 38 of the 45 state seats in Kelantan while BN won six and PKR managed one.
The Malays make up 61.63 per cent of the 11,553 voters in the state constituency, while the Chinese have 20.08 per cent, Indians 1.6 per cent, and other communities are approximately 17 per cent of the electorate.
11/10/10
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment