PENANG In 2008, Pakatan Rakyat won with comfortable majorities in 10 of the 13 parliamentary seats in Penang. However, it scrapped through with 708 votes in Balik Pulau, but lost Tasek Gelugor andKepala Batas to BN.
At this 13th general election, several Independents have joined the fray after being dropped from the contest by their respective parties.
Ironically, the Independents - who are mostly made up of disgruntled members - may end up drawing votes away from their former party colleagues to benefit their rivals.
The rise in new voters - ranging from 6,714 (Bukit Bendera) to 18,594 (Bayan Baru) - has also added an element of uncertainty in the polls with the question on whether their presence would change the political landscape in Penang.
Generally, 40 percent of the voters are in the younger age group and some of them have been actively campaigning for either BN or Pakatan.
Many were seen putting up flags late at night (with a fee of RM50 to RM80 per flag), while others on their motorcycles, accompanied party leaders out on the hustings.
While it is known that young voters are more anti-establishment, the opposite may occur.
With numerous handouts by BN ranging from cash payouts, free dinners, lucky draws and mega-concerts, to allowances for party workers, it is hard to tell where they would mark their 'X'.
The key seats to watch for in Penang are:
Tasek Gelugor
At this 13th general election, several Independents have joined the fray after being dropped from the contest by their respective parties.
Ironically, the Independents - who are mostly made up of disgruntled members - may end up drawing votes away from their former party colleagues to benefit their rivals.
The rise in new voters - ranging from 6,714 (Bukit Bendera) to 18,594 (Bayan Baru) - has also added an element of uncertainty in the polls with the question on whether their presence would change the political landscape in Penang.Generally, 40 percent of the voters are in the younger age group and some of them have been actively campaigning for either BN or Pakatan.
Many were seen putting up flags late at night (with a fee of RM50 to RM80 per flag), while others on their motorcycles, accompanied party leaders out on the hustings.
While it is known that young voters are more anti-establishment, the opposite may occur.
With numerous handouts by BN ranging from cash payouts, free dinners, lucky draws and mega-concerts, to allowances for party workers, it is hard to tell where they would mark their 'X'.
The key seats to watch for in Penang are:
Tasek Gelugor
It will see a three-cornered fight between BN's Shabudin Yahaya, PAS' Abdul Rahman Maidin and independent candidate Shariff Omar, former MP for the constituency.
In 2008, caretaker minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nor Mohamed Yakcob won the seat with a 4,547 majority against PAS' Ismail Salleh.
Nor Mohamed has however been dropped and his replacement Shabudin enters this race fraught by internal bickering and lack of cooperation from party members.
Meanwhile Shariff (left), former Penang deputy chief minister, has declared himself as Pakatan friendly and has been making some headway in his campaign, which draws better support than his BN counterpart.
He was recently sacked from Umno for going independent and for openly criticising the leadership for fielding "win-cable" and not "winnable" candidates in several seats.
According to Shariff, "win-cable" candidates are those with strong ties to certain powerful personalities in Umno.
However, Shariff may just turn out to be a spoiler, drawing away Umno votes from Shabudin, giving Abdul Rahman, the former National Malay Chamber of Commerce president, the Tasek Gelugor seat, which has 54,141 voters, made up of 78% Malays, 15% Chinese and 7% Indians.
Nibong Tebal
In 2008, caretaker minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nor Mohamed Yakcob won the seat with a 4,547 majority against PAS' Ismail Salleh.
Nor Mohamed has however been dropped and his replacement Shabudin enters this race fraught by internal bickering and lack of cooperation from party members.
Meanwhile Shariff (left), former Penang deputy chief minister, has declared himself as Pakatan friendly and has been making some headway in his campaign, which draws better support than his BN counterpart.He was recently sacked from Umno for going independent and for openly criticising the leadership for fielding "win-cable" and not "winnable" candidates in several seats.
According to Shariff, "win-cable" candidates are those with strong ties to certain powerful personalities in Umno.
However, Shariff may just turn out to be a spoiler, drawing away Umno votes from Shabudin, giving Abdul Rahman, the former National Malay Chamber of Commerce president, the Tasek Gelugor seat, which has 54,141 voters, made up of 78% Malays, 15% Chinese and 7% Indians.
Nibong Tebal
The seat was won by PKR in 2008 with 3,087 majority but the incumbent - Tan Tee Beng - then jumped ship. He is not contesting this year.
PKR's candidate, caretaker deputy chief minister and state PKR chief Mansor Othman, is locked in a three-way battle with Umno state liaison head Zainal Abidin Osman and Independent Teng Kok Pheng, formerly aligned to PKR.
Mansor (left) faces a tough fight as the parliamentary constituency is a rural Malay seat which is susceptible to all kinds of propaganda on PKR's pro-Jewish and unIslamic stance, while its ally DAP is often accused of being "racist" out to rob Malays of their special rights.
Mansor also joins the fray with PKR involved in a silent stand-off with PAS supporters who are not backing his candidacy as they did in 2008, due to the tussle for Sungai Acheh - one of the three state seats under the Nibong Tebal constituency.
PAS has announced that it is no longer contesting the seat, however, it is learnt that its local supporters are still campaigning against PKR's Badrul Hisham Shaharin (also known as Chegubard) who is facing BN's Mahmud Zakaria.
Although Mansor commands the majority support of the 37% Chinese in the constituency, his contender Zainal Abidin is a local boy with his father - a popular Umno leader - well respected by all communities there.
And with Teng stealing some PKR votes from Mansor, it may be tough for the party to repeat its 2008 performance, and even if victorious, would probably find its majority slashed unless voters cast their votes for the opposition party with hopes of taking Putrajaya in mind.
Balik Pulau
PKR's candidate, caretaker deputy chief minister and state PKR chief Mansor Othman, is locked in a three-way battle with Umno state liaison head Zainal Abidin Osman and Independent Teng Kok Pheng, formerly aligned to PKR.
Mansor (left) faces a tough fight as the parliamentary constituency is a rural Malay seat which is susceptible to all kinds of propaganda on PKR's pro-Jewish and unIslamic stance, while its ally DAP is often accused of being "racist" out to rob Malays of their special rights.Mansor also joins the fray with PKR involved in a silent stand-off with PAS supporters who are not backing his candidacy as they did in 2008, due to the tussle for Sungai Acheh - one of the three state seats under the Nibong Tebal constituency.
PAS has announced that it is no longer contesting the seat, however, it is learnt that its local supporters are still campaigning against PKR's Badrul Hisham Shaharin (also known as Chegubard) who is facing BN's Mahmud Zakaria.
Although Mansor commands the majority support of the 37% Chinese in the constituency, his contender Zainal Abidin is a local boy with his father - a popular Umno leader - well respected by all communities there.
And with Teng stealing some PKR votes from Mansor, it may be tough for the party to repeat its 2008 performance, and even if victorious, would probably find its majority slashed unless voters cast their votes for the opposition party with hopes of taking Putrajaya in mind.
Balik Pulau
The largest constituency in terms of land size located at the back of the island is a hard nut to crack with voters frowning on 'parachute' candidates.
In 2008, BN fielded Dr Norraessah Mohamad, an unknown in the area, and she lost to PKR's Yusmadi Yusoff, a local born and bred, with his family members involved in politics.
Likewise, no outsider had been able to win the seat when it was contested by PKR in 1999 and 2004.
However, this time around, PKRdropped Yusmadi due to complaints received about his performance and is fielding a virtual stranger, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik.
Muhammad Bakhtiar is contesting against BN's Hilmi Yahya, who is a popular figure in the rural Malay seat, which has 49,751 voters - 65% Malays, 32% Chinese and 4% Indians.
The constituency has been hardest hit with many villages having to give way to development, and this may turn the people's anger against BN, as the plots were mostly sold to private entities prior to 2008.
Malay rights NGOs and their allies in Umno have been campaigning hard to portray the community as a victim marginalised by the DAP-led government, to which the latter vehemently denies.
Coupled with a new candidate who knows little about rural life, PKR may lose this seat unless it manages to obtain 90% of the Chinese votes and close to 40% of the Malay votes, which should give it another narrow win.
In 2008, BN fielded Dr Norraessah Mohamad, an unknown in the area, and she lost to PKR's Yusmadi Yusoff, a local born and bred, with his family members involved in politics.
Likewise, no outsider had been able to win the seat when it was contested by PKR in 1999 and 2004.
However, this time around, PKRdropped Yusmadi due to complaints received about his performance and is fielding a virtual stranger, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik.Muhammad Bakhtiar is contesting against BN's Hilmi Yahya, who is a popular figure in the rural Malay seat, which has 49,751 voters - 65% Malays, 32% Chinese and 4% Indians.
The constituency has been hardest hit with many villages having to give way to development, and this may turn the people's anger against BN, as the plots were mostly sold to private entities prior to 2008.
Malay rights NGOs and their allies in Umno have been campaigning hard to portray the community as a victim marginalised by the DAP-led government, to which the latter vehemently denies.
Coupled with a new candidate who knows little about rural life, PKR may lose this seat unless it manages to obtain 90% of the Chinese votes and close to 40% of the Malay votes, which should give it another narrow win.
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