Rohaizat Othman’s resounding defeat in Permatang Pasir exposed more than just the danger of fielding a flawed individual as an election candidate.
It laid bare:
The risky nature of Umno’s new strategy of going all out to win the Malay vote
An approach which has seen its politicians and party-controlled media organs play the race card and employ right-wing rhetoric aggressively in the past couple of months.
Umno insiders say that the strategy is anchored on this premise: that if Umno can once again become the undisputable voice of Malays here, the non-Malays will be cowed into fearing the might of the ruling party and become more accepting of the status quo in Malaysia.
But the results in Permatang Pasir show that the premise is shaky, at best. Pas candidate Mohd Salleh Man defeated Rohaizat by a majority of 4,551 votes. The margin of victory was lower than then 5,433 votes achieved by Pas in March 2008.
Yet, Umno/BN should not celebrate.
The voter turnout yesterday was 73 per cent, compared with 83 per cent in Election 2008. Perhaps more telling was the fact that Pas snared 65.5 per cent of the vote, less than 1 per cent lower than what it obtained on March 8 2008.
Umno leaders say that early analysis of the results show that the party managed to increase the share of Malay votes but conceded that BN did not manage to make much headway in carving out much support among the 27 per cent Chinese vote bank.
For example, in the mainly Chinese areas of Sama Gagah and Cross Street, the Pas candidate won 1397 and 942 votes, compared with 594 and 300 for BN. It is believed that as much as 75 per cent of Chinese vote went to Pas.
The fact is that many seats right across West Malaysia are just like Permatang Pasir, mixed constituency wards with a significant Malay majority but with sizeable non-Malay voters.
If Umno continues its approach of only looking after the interest of Malay/Muslim voters and alienating non-Malays, it will have to obtain more than 60 per cent of the Malay vote in every electoral contest — a near impossible target given the hardcore support Pas enjoys in the Malay heartland.
If Umno continues to encourage saber-rattling talk, wear its arrogance as a badge of honour and believes that it can hammer non-Malays into submission, then it will have to accept that Permatang Pasir will not be a one-off.
The ineffectiveness of MCA and Gerakan to bring home the Chinese vote
These two parties are a shell of what they once were. Ong Tee Keat and Koh Tsu Koon are only leaders of their political parties but not in their communities. Both speak about rejuvenating their parties and support base but the reality is that the MCA and Gerakan structures in Penang no longer exist. Branches and divisions are not active.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak must be reaching the point where he knows that both these parties cannot deliver the Chinese vote to him in Penang and elsewhere.
The dodgy selection process of Umno candidates
The early sounds escaping the lips of Umno/BN leaders suggest that they will lay a large portion of the blame for Permatang Pasir on Rohaizat. And with good reason too.
Asking voters to support a candidate who had been disbarred as a lawyer for cheating his clients of RM161,000 is like imploring a bank to employ a security guard who just completed a stint in prison for robbery.
But Rohaizat did not pick himself. He was selected and vet by Umno politicians, including Penang Umno chief Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Party insiders say that several other candidates also were pock marked with personal and financial issues. In short, Rohaizat was the best of a compromised lot of office bearers in the division.
Only if Umno is prepared to go beyond the small and cozy list of candidates put up by the local warlord, will it be able to ensure that its election candidates will pass the minimum set of standards acceptable to all Malaysians.
MI
26/08/09
It laid bare:
The risky nature of Umno’s new strategy of going all out to win the Malay vote
An approach which has seen its politicians and party-controlled media organs play the race card and employ right-wing rhetoric aggressively in the past couple of months.
Umno insiders say that the strategy is anchored on this premise: that if Umno can once again become the undisputable voice of Malays here, the non-Malays will be cowed into fearing the might of the ruling party and become more accepting of the status quo in Malaysia.
But the results in Permatang Pasir show that the premise is shaky, at best. Pas candidate Mohd Salleh Man defeated Rohaizat by a majority of 4,551 votes. The margin of victory was lower than then 5,433 votes achieved by Pas in March 2008.
Yet, Umno/BN should not celebrate.
The voter turnout yesterday was 73 per cent, compared with 83 per cent in Election 2008. Perhaps more telling was the fact that Pas snared 65.5 per cent of the vote, less than 1 per cent lower than what it obtained on March 8 2008.
Umno leaders say that early analysis of the results show that the party managed to increase the share of Malay votes but conceded that BN did not manage to make much headway in carving out much support among the 27 per cent Chinese vote bank.
For example, in the mainly Chinese areas of Sama Gagah and Cross Street, the Pas candidate won 1397 and 942 votes, compared with 594 and 300 for BN. It is believed that as much as 75 per cent of Chinese vote went to Pas.
The fact is that many seats right across West Malaysia are just like Permatang Pasir, mixed constituency wards with a significant Malay majority but with sizeable non-Malay voters.
If Umno continues its approach of only looking after the interest of Malay/Muslim voters and alienating non-Malays, it will have to obtain more than 60 per cent of the Malay vote in every electoral contest — a near impossible target given the hardcore support Pas enjoys in the Malay heartland.
If Umno continues to encourage saber-rattling talk, wear its arrogance as a badge of honour and believes that it can hammer non-Malays into submission, then it will have to accept that Permatang Pasir will not be a one-off.
The ineffectiveness of MCA and Gerakan to bring home the Chinese vote
These two parties are a shell of what they once were. Ong Tee Keat and Koh Tsu Koon are only leaders of their political parties but not in their communities. Both speak about rejuvenating their parties and support base but the reality is that the MCA and Gerakan structures in Penang no longer exist. Branches and divisions are not active.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak must be reaching the point where he knows that both these parties cannot deliver the Chinese vote to him in Penang and elsewhere.
The dodgy selection process of Umno candidates
The early sounds escaping the lips of Umno/BN leaders suggest that they will lay a large portion of the blame for Permatang Pasir on Rohaizat. And with good reason too.
Asking voters to support a candidate who had been disbarred as a lawyer for cheating his clients of RM161,000 is like imploring a bank to employ a security guard who just completed a stint in prison for robbery.
But Rohaizat did not pick himself. He was selected and vet by Umno politicians, including Penang Umno chief Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Party insiders say that several other candidates also were pock marked with personal and financial issues. In short, Rohaizat was the best of a compromised lot of office bearers in the division.
Only if Umno is prepared to go beyond the small and cozy list of candidates put up by the local warlord, will it be able to ensure that its election candidates will pass the minimum set of standards acceptable to all Malaysians.
MI
26/08/09
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