Merlimau-Kerdau: The toughest battles but Pakatan unfazed

There is little excitement in the air even though the by-elections in Kerdau and Merlimau are close by. Maybe it is because Malaysians know it is already a foregone conclusion.

The Umno-BN can be counted to rollout hundreds of millions of ringgit in election goodies, bend Election Commission officials and the police to its will while the Pakatan Rakyat will surely mount their best campaign but using the least money they possibly can so as to conserve resources for the coming General Election.

Nomination day for the by-elections in Kerdau and Merlimau state seats will fall on Saturday and the polling dates on March 6, 2011. It came as no surprise when the Election Commission conveniently fixed both the by-elections on the same date, with Pakatan leaders accusing it of doing so in order to favour Umno, which stands to benefit because of its greater machinery and foot soldiers on the ground.

Merlimau

The Merlimau by election was called due to the death of Datuk Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hassan, 54, in January this year due to a heart attack. In the 2008 general election, the late Mohamad Hidhir defeated the PAS candidate Jasme Tompang with a majority of 2,154 votes.

Merlimau is a Malay-majority constituency with voters numbering around 10,700. About 65% are Malays with the Chinese numbering around 20% percent while the remainder are Indians.

Around the Jasin area are Felda settlements known to be BN's stronghold.

Asked to comment on this by Malaysia Chronicle, PAS MP of Shah Alam, Khalid Samad said, "if we don't contest, we will be labelled as afraid of being slaughtered but if we contest BN will say that we are foolish to get slaughtered."

This is the 15th by-election since the political tsunami of 2008 when Malaysian voters woke up to give enough votes to the opposition to enable BN to lose its 2/3 majority in Parliament.

BN expects to increase its winning margin in Merlimau. Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan told Bernama that he was confident that BN would win by a bigger majority than in 2008 in this small town which is only a half hour drive from Melaka city itself and is well-connected with wi-fi facilities.

Kerdau

As for Kerdau, it is a 95% Malay majority seat with voters numbering around 8,000. There are around 400 Chinese and 100 Indian voters.

In 2008, the late Datuk Zaharuddin Abu Kassim beat PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim with a 1,615-vote majority. The late Zaharuddin, aged 63 was receiving medical care in the National Heart Institute when he passed away.

BN too is expected to win easily in this state seat located in Pahang, the home-state of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

This sleepy hollow which is the stage for the 16th by-election is located between Mentakab and Temerloh and as with all small towns of this nature, it also has a large Felda settlement, BN's fixed deposit.

Kuala Krau Umno division chief Datuk Ismail Said was also reported as saying that BN was confident of retaining the Kerdau seat with a bigger majority.

Longer-term goal that is all important

But PAS leaders are not worried at all.

"In a by-election, the full force and might of BN's machinery is concentrated in these areas and the voters are feted with instant goodies like the tarring of roads, installing of street-lights, cleaning of drains, etc, etc, etc. The Felda areas are also tightly controlled and closely monitored by BN so it is definitely not a surprise if BN win by a larger margin in by-elections," Kamaruddin Jaffar, the PAS MP for Tumpat, told Malaysia Chronicle.

"There is also a massive play of money politics and fantastic promises made by BN to mislead the voters who are also subtly coerced to vote for BN. The mainstreammedia is also one-sided in its reporting when it comes to news on the opposition. This scenario is different in a general election as the power of the BN machinery is not so concentrated in one location. Therefore, by-elections cannot be used as a yardstick to measure the strength of a party.

As far as PAS is concerned, it will always be its longer-term struggle that holds the greatest sway.

"For PAS, our struggle has and always will be an ongoing journey and not a destination and therefore we are not discouraged by defeats or setbacks as each defeat or victory is a lesson by itself," said Kamaruddin. - Malaysia Chronicle