Umno’s fear of loss in Port Dickson a chance for Harapan to consolidate

PD POLLS | After two by-election defeats for BN following its loss of federal power, the once mighty coalition have become averse to further contests.

Publicly, BN cited its protest of a “wasteful" by-election as the reason for sitting out but ultimately, any further losses in a PKR stronghold would only further demoralise the party.

However, BN, and particularly Umno's fear of another defeat, has pushed its supporters to "try out" other political parties in the Port Dickson by-election.

Even though the Port Dickson parliamentary seat has been held by PKR since 2008, two out of the five state seats there are BN strongholds which stuck with the coalition even though it lost power in Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya.

The state seats are Linggi and Bagan Pinang in the south of Port Dickson.

Several long-time BN supporters in Bagan Pinang and Linggi have indicated that they will be backing former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Mohd Isa Samad, even though he has quit Umno to contest as an independent.

However, other BN supporters in those areas said in Umno's absence, they may now consider Pakatan Harapan.

This is further guided by a culture instilled during BN's rule where voters, particularly in rural areas, believe they will only be helped if they supported the government of the day.

"Like me, I’m still for Umno but we need to accept the realities of the people's choice. Harapan has won (federal power) so we need to support them.

"I hope the new government will help small traders in Bagan Pinang as the old government did," said 49-year-old trader Sabri Yusof.

Sabri also views Isa favourably and said his choice was a toss-up between the former menteri besar and PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim.

Another local voter, a 56-year-old fisherman who only wanted to be known as Ahmad, also admitted that he was a long-time BN supporter but was now exploring other parties.

"We used to be BN, but no more. We're all fence-sitters now," he said.

Ahmad said he had attended one of Anwar's ceramah to "hear him out" but said he was unlikely to attend Isa's ceramah as he was a local who people are already familiar with.

With Harapan's power of incumbency, BN's supporters are now opening up to the coalition and if Harapan is successful on capitalising on this, it could continue to erode BN's once-impenetrable base.

Hardcore Umno support

For other hardcore Umno supporters who are unwilling to back Harapan, their vote will likely go for Isa who was the local warlord for more than 20 years.

"Of course Umno, it is a must," 65-year old Hassan Maswadi declared when asked who he voted for in the last general election.

However, the former Tenaga Nasional Berhad worker said he will be supporting Isa in Umno's absence.

"We still support Umno but since Umno doesn't have a candidate so we have to go for the independent candidate," said 53-year-old safety officer Azhar Salleh.

Despite Isa's strong roots in Port Dickson, particularly in the south, he can be a divisive figure.

Some voters complained that Isa only assisted his supporters when he was Negeri Sembilan menteri besar from 1982 to 2004 while others raised about the corruption scandals when he presided over Felda.

"He has many issues... his Felda issue is never-ending," said a 64-year-old trader who only wanted to be known as Arif.

Arif was a long-time Umno supporter but decided to vote for Harapan in the last general election. He also believed that the coalition will likely win again in the by-election.

Entering the fifth day of campaigning, Anwar has had at least 10 events in Bagan Pinang and Linggi while Isa attended eight.

In contrast, PAS has only held four events in the area.

"Isa's influence can threaten Anwar more than PAS.

"PAS is not popular here," said 48-year-old local businessperson Azrul Zainuddin.

PAS, initially seen as a formidable challenger against Anwar, has been struggling to get its campaign off the ground.

The party is traditionally weak in southern peninsular Malaysia and was further paralysed when splinter party Amanah was formed.

PAS is fielding Mohd Nazari Mokhtar, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, who hails from Johor.

The other candidates in the seven-cornered fight are independents Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Chan Keng Leong, Kan Chee Yuen and Lau Seck Yan.

MIC had traditionally contested the Port Dickson seat but decided to sit out this by-election.

Umno had also declined to fill in on BN's behalf. - Mkini