D-DAY FOR ANWAR: PD DECIDES TODAY ON WHO WILL BE 8TH PM

After two weeks of intense campaigning, it’s finally polling day for the Port Dickson by-election.

A strong win for Pakatan Harapan’s candidate Anwar Ibrahim today will ensure the former’s comeback into Parliament and a solid mandate as the prime minister-in-waiting.

The PKR president-elect is, however, up against his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan and former Negeri Sembilan MB Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, both running as independents.

The remaining candidates are PAS’ Mohd Nazari Mokhtar and independents Stevie Chan, Lau Seck Yan and Kan Chee Yuen.

Port Dickson has 75,212 voters, with an ethnic breakdown of 43 percent Malays, 33 percent Chinese and 22 percent Indians.

Early voting, involving over 7,000 voters, took place on Oct 9.

Today’s polls was triggered by the controversial ‘PD move‘, in which incumbent MP PKR’s Danyal Balagopal Abdullah vacated the seat to facilitate Anwar’s return to active politics.

Danyal had won the seat with a comfortable 17,710-vote majority, or 59 percent of the total votes cast, against MIC’s V Mogan and PAS’ Mahfuz Roslan.

7am: Port Dickson – The Election Commission (EC) expects a 70 percent voter turnout today.

Up to 32 polling stations with 154 polling streams will be open from 8am to 5.30pm.

Meanwhile, over 1,403 EC staff and 800 police personnel are deployed to ensure a smooth voting process.

The EC advises voters to check their polling information via MySPR Semak or on the EC portal. They can also call 03-88927018 or send an SMS to 15888.

Results are expected to be announced by 10pm at the Port Dickson Municipal Council hall here.  – Malaysiakini 

POLLSTER: ANWAR TO WIN PD COMFORTABLY WITH NON-MALAY SUPPORT; ISA CLOSEST CONTENDER

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s victory in a seven-man fight for the Port Dickson seat is virtually in the bag with non-Malay voters’ supporting him, think-tank Ilham Centre said today.

The think-tank also believes that former Umno strongman Tan Sri Isa Samad will only manage to be his closest challenger.

Ilham Centre said Anwar remains the only prominent candidate before voting day tomorrow in the Port Dickson by-election, citing indicators such as an orderly campaign team and election machinery at each voting centre, as well as the variety of campaign materials seen throughout the federal seat in Negri Sembilan.

“Based on survey findings, 64 per cent of voters accept Anwar Ibrahim’s choice of Port Dickson as his base to take over the prime minister’s post after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” Ilham Centre executive director Azlan Zainal said in a statement this evening, describing Anwar as being in a comfortable position with the advantage of non-Malay support.

Azlan was referring to Ilham Centre’s survey from October 8 to October 11 through face-to-face interviews with 817 respondents in Port Dickson covering all segments in terms of ethnic group, gender, age group and locality and with a margin of error of 2.03 per cent.

Azlan said that it was in fact the expectation that Anwar would become the next prime minister that helped him stand out among the Port Dickson election candidates.

“The question that arises among voters is how far is Anwar’s desire to stay in Port Dickson in the coming 15th general election if he wins, as he does not have a sentimental value and legacy in this area,” he said of Anwar, who had in the past made Permatang Pauh in Penang his political stronghold.

Just Isa and Anwar

Ilham Centre noted that the survey showed Isa as Anwar’s strongest contender, despite joining the race as an independent candidate who is not contesting on an Umno-Barisan Nasional ticket.

It said Isa — a former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar —still retained strong support especially in two out of five state seats within the Port Dickson federal seat (Bagan Pinang and Linggi).

“The influence of kinship, sentiments of personal ties between him and the voters as well as the element of the politics of ‘balas budi’ (returning the favour) is very strong in these two areas.

“The majority of respondents especially among the elderly and the Umno veterans that we met agreed that Isa Samad had contributed much in developing their area when he was Bagan Pinang state assemblyman and Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar,” Ilham Centre said.

The think-tank said however that Isa will lose out on votes from the ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, as the non-Malay votes are still firmly for Pakatan Harapan and strongly against any candidates that are not from the ruling coalition.

Isa will also lose out on some votes from Umno members as he had quit Umno to be an independent candidate, while youths below the age of 40 do not share the same sentimental feelings towards Isa like their preceding generation.

“Umno youths appear to have lost their direction in this by-election. Isa Samad’s image that is tainted with scandal and the Felda leadership’s failure forms the backdrop for his negative image among young voters,” Azlan said.

Port Dickson currently has 75,770 registered voters, with 43 per cent being Malays, while 33 per cent are Chinese and 22 per cent are Indians, with other ethnic groups making up the remaining two per cent.

Azlan said Dr Mahathir’s recent appearance in Port Dickson to campaign for Anwar has helped deal with talks of alleged loose ties between the two, as well as giving a slight boost in Malay support towards Anwar.

Earlier in his statement, Azlan had noted that it was hard to accurately tell how Malay-Umno voters would vote this time, as they could either vote for ex-Umno leader Isa, the PAS candidate due to sentiments revolving around Islam and the Malay ethnicity, Anwar or boycott the by-election entirely. – Malay Mail

MKINI / MALAY MAIL