Will candidates rush in where angels fear to tread?

PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE- Opposition leaders are not serious about contesting in Pekan

VERY few people have the guts to contest against Barisan Nasional in Pekan as they know very well that the royal town of Pahang is one of the coalition's strongholds since Datuk Seri Najib Razak won the seat unopposed in 1976.

Najib has comfortably retained the parliamentary seat until the 1982 general election, when he stood and secured the Bandar Pekan state seat and was subsequently appointed the menteri besar until 1986.

From 1986 to the 2008 general elections, Najib recontested and won the Pekan parliamentary seat which he inherited from his father and second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

After his overwhelming victory during the 2008 political tsunami, which saw the majority votes increased from 22,922 to 26,464, Pekan is deemed a black seat for the opposition.

However, Pekan came back on the political radar when Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) ex-chief Datuk Zaid Ibrahim expressed their interest to battle the prime minister on his own turf.

It is actually a psywar as both of them know very well that they can never wrest the seat from Najib. Their main aim is not to win but to create a buzz that they hope could at least reduce the premier's majority votes.

Unknown to many, state PKR chairman Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman was the first person to express his willingness to contest in Pekan.

Unfortunately, no one took it seriously as for many, the English proverb "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" aptly describes such a suicidal act.

"Pas may have a better chance in Pekan but at present, we have to accept the fact that it will be contested by PKR," admitted Pekan Pas commissioner Abu Kassim Manaf.

Pas always believes that it can repeat its success of the 1999 general election, where its candidate managed to reduce Najib's majority in the predominantly Malay seat to only 241 votes.

But the present scenario is different from 1999, when most of the seats won by the opposition could be credited to the sympathy votes for ousted deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"It was a gravity-defying success for Najib in 2008 as most BN candidates got a lower majority or even lost their seats that year," said Pekan Umno Youth chief Mohammad Jefree Wahab.

Some 22,572 of 24,260 new voters in Pekan are also those aged 40 and below. They benefit the most from the transformation process in Pekan which has created jobs and provided better facilities and infrastructure.

Najib also receives strong support from the Felda community which enjoys various aid and windfalls.

The Felda schemes in Chini, for example, received more than RM200 million for various projects including the construction of 325 houses for the second generation, Felda College and Royal Tenun Pahang centre.

Najib has also ensured a faster transformation process in his constituency through the implementation of various high-impact projects including the Pekan Automotive Industrial Park in Peramu Jaya, in which DRB-Hicom Bhd as the leading group has been given the trust to assemble vehicles for some of the world's top marques, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

Various projects are also being carried out under the East Coast Economic Region initiatives. Among them is the RM13 million Pekan heritage town project, which turns the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum and the surrounding areas into a leading tourist attraction.

"All these developments are special gifts to the people in Pekan, who have always been supportive of Najib," said Mohd Zakin Ramli of Kampung Ketapang Tengah.

The 58-year-old wedding planner, also known as Pak Kie, said Pekan had regained its glory with the various beautification and development projects.

Datuk Dr T. Penny said Najib had strong ties with the people in Pekan as they have known each other for so long.

"Even the opposition supporters like him. That is why he can get more votes in every election," said the first doctor to open a clinic in Pekan in 1980.

Dr Penny believed that the people in Pekan were also grateful to the prime minister who had enabled them to be more affluent nowadays, owning one or two cars compared with bicycles in the old days.

"There were mainly wooden houses and shops in Pekan when I opened my clinic but now we can see concrete buildings all over the town," said Dr Penny, who has settled down in Pekan with his wife and two children.

But there are some ungrateful constituents, either from the opposition or BN, who will do whatever they can to tarnish the prime minister's image locally and abroad.

Local businessman Abdul Jamil Mohamed said such an act was uncalled for as the people in Pekan should always be proud that the constituency had produced two prime ministers to date.

"Trust me, people in other constituencies will always welcome Najib to be their elected representative as they know he can help transform their areas," he said.

For the grateful ones like Jamil, Najib should get full support from his constituents as it will help transform Pekan and the country into a developed nation by 2020.

"I know he can do it as I can see the results in Pekan," said Jamil, whose frequent overseas trips have made him appreciate the development that has taken place in his hometown.

- New Straits Times