Batu Sapi: Pakatan cries foul as EC fixes same dates as Galas

Malaysia Chronicle

UPDATED Pakatan Rakyat leaders cried foul on news that the Election Commission had confirmed the Batu Sapi by-election in Sabah was to be held on the same day as the Galas contest on November 4.

"This is obviously aimed at draining the resources and energy of the Pakatan but we are ready for them," PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"What concerns us more is the lack of neutrality displayed by the EC. If the referee is acting for the other side, that is already the unfair advantage that may kill us rather than simultaneous contests to stretch our resources."

According to the Star, EC chairman Abdul Aziz Yusof had announced on Friday the same nomination and balloting days for the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat as the Galas, Kelantan state seat contest. Nomination will be on Oct 26 and balloting Nov 4.

Two tough seats for Pakatan

Avid biker Edmund

Both seats are located in deep BN territory and it won’t be easy for the Pakatan to pry a victory from Prime Minister Najib Razak, whom pundits predict may soon call for national elections.

They expect him to roll out the full barrage of election goodies in order to ensure that his BN coalition enters the 13th General Election with a psychological edge.

Batu Sapi fell vacant after PBS MP Edmund Chong Ket Wah died from a bike accident last week, triggering the 13th by-election since the 2008 general election.

Some 2,000 people attended his funeral on Thursday. In 2008, the 54-year Chong had retained his seat with a 3,708 majority, polling 9,479 votes against independent Chung Kwing Wing’s 5,771.

According to the 2008 electoral list, there were 26,004 voters in Batu Sapi. Turnout then was 15,980 while spoilt votes 730. There are two state seats under the Batu Sapi (P185) parliamentary umbrella – Sekong (N43) held by BN’s Samsudin Yahya and Karamunting (N44) held by BN’s Peter Pang.

Cancer patient Chek Hashim

In Galas, the 12th by-election was triggered last month with the death of PAS assemblyman Chek Hashim Sulaima, who died of colon cancer. There are two state seats under the Batu Sapi (P185) parliamentary umbrella – Sekong (N43) held by BN’s Samsudin Yahya and Karamunting (N44) held by BN’s Peter Pang.

In Galas, PAS had won the seat with slim 646-vote majority in 2008. The constituency is part of the Gua Musang parliamentary seat held by Umno’s Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah since 1969.

Razaleigh has agreed to be the Umno election director for Galas although he has not accepted the offer to become the by-election candidate. Both PAS and Umno plan to name their candidate on October 24.

Lik Batu Sapi, Galas is also a mixed seat although the Muslim population dominates. According to the 2008 list, there are 10,330 voters in the constituency, with 65.4% Malays, 22.3% Chinese, 10.5% Orang Asli and 1.8% India.