Even up to the close of polling on Nov 19, PKR campaigners for Permatang Pauh candidate Nurul Izzah Anwar were in a calm and optimistic mood.
After all, Nurul Izzah (above, centre) was defending what many view as her family seat, with her parents having won in the constituency, in turn since 1982.
Unlike some previous elections fought by her parents there, where hostility from opponents was apparent, the campaign in the Penang mainland constituency this time was uneventful.
This gave the impression that everything was smooth sailing for her to retain the seat.
But as more and more of the vote tallies came in from the polling station that night, messages started to go out urging supporters to pray for Nurul Izzah.
Around midnight, it was confirmed. Forty years after they voted in fresh-faced Anwar Ibrahim, Permatang Pauh voters cast out his daughter.
The victory went to a relatively unknown figure on the national scale, local PAS leader and religious preacher Muhammad Fawwaz Muhammad Jan, 39, who won with a majority of 5,272 votes.
Two days later, party leaders were still scratching their heads about the quiet green wave that swept away the Reformasi Princess, and swept through the northern states of Perlis and Kedah, where Perikatan Nasional (PN) lost just one parliamentary seat.
Fawwaz polled 37,638 votes against Nurul Izzah's 32,366. BN candidate Mohd Zaidi Mohd received 16,971 votes while Pejuang’s Nasir Othman received 473.
Blindsided by PAS’ stealth campaigning
PKR veteran and Penanti assemblyperson Dr Norlela Ariffin, who campaigned for Nurul Izzah this time, is still shocked by the incumbent’s resounding defeat, much more so by Fawwaz.
“There was no single negative incident, showing of anger, or negative reactions from the voters or opposition supporters,” Norlela said.
Indicative of how confident the party was of victory when Anwar himself spoke at Permatang Pauh, Nurul Izzah was absent. Anwar had sent her to Bagan Datuk to campaign there.
Norlela said that on the campaign trail, Nurul Izzah’s campaigners had also left PAS and PN unscathed.
They only addressed attacks by BN’s Zaidi and failed to realise that support for PN was spreading on the quiet.
“We did not see Fawwaz as a greater threat.
“What I would say is that PAS has great influence at all the mosques and the voters, the Malay community especially has been influenced to a greater extent,” she added.
Norlela said the youth and first-time voters in the area, where PAS runs various schools and has a large influence among young people, were also possible factors for the defeat.
PAS’ standing in the 2018 election there could be a reason why little attention was paid to Fawwaz by Harapan campaigners.
In GE14, PAS’ Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden took just 20 percent of the votes, coming in third in the race that Nurul Izzah won, defeating BN’s Zaidi as well.
In fact, PAS had only won the seat once before, in 1978, and never managed to garner more than a fifth of the vote in the six times it had contested there.
Youth voters key peer influencers
Permatang Pauh PKR leader Ahmad Rizal Abdul Hamid, 47, was among the campaigners who were blindsided by the PAS-PN victory in the constituency.
Ahmad Rizal, who is a Seberang Perai city councillor, now believes more attention should have been paid to PAS’ quiet campaigns in mosques and through word of mouth.
He said PN has also rightly targeted young people there, using them to influence their peers.
“PN has thrown big money and the youngsters were given T-shirts and money. Once they were convinced, they went around in their motorcades to influence their friends.
“PAS has a great follower base and Bersatu, being a ruling government party, with their financial backing went around to convince the voters,” Ahmad Rizal said.
But these are his views in retrospect.
When on the campaign trail, he did not believe the young PN campaigners would have much sway.
When stumping for Nurul Izzah, he only trained his guns against BN and Zaidi and did little to dissuade voters there against PAS or PN, he said.
“We did not touch on PAS and PN on any issues,” he said.
Voters not surprised by the result
Voters met by Malaysiakini in Permatang Pauh yesterday, however, were not surprised by the results.
One resident at Taman Haji Amin said he and his neighbours were fed up with being viewed as a vote bank for Anwar’s family after voting them in for almost four decades.
They were also tired of having a representative from Kuala Lumpur, whom they say is harder to reach compared to someone from their constituency.
Nurul Izzah, 42, contested in Permatang Pauh for the first time in 2018, after serving two terms as MP of Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur, where she resides.
The voter, who declined to be named, said the PN candidate, Fawwaz, won because he is a local from Permatang Pasir.
As such, he knows the locals and locality and he would be there to render help whenever needed.
“What is wrong in selecting local candidates, as they would serve the community better, rather than someone parachuting from somewhere else?
“It’s either someone from Anwar’s family is fielded here or they parachute someone from outside Penang, like Afif Bahardin, who finally became a traitor.
“Why can’t the party choose someone from city councillors and any kampung boy for the seat? Are our boys not qualified to become assemblypersons or MPs?” the 60-year-old asked.
Afif is the state assemblyperson for Seberang Jaya, the state seat located within Permatang Pauh. He won for the second time on the PKR ticket in 2018, but defected to Bersatu in 2020.
Fellow voter and retired police officer Abdul Razak Mohd Jani, 65, said Permatang Pauh residents do not have much to show, after four decades of having the Anwar family as their MPs, and so they have had enough.
“They should have fielded some local leaders to contest in the election. This is a lesson for every party in the future.
“Never underestimate the people, as if they have no voices to be heard. I welcome and respect the people’s verdict.
“What have Anwar and his family done in Permatang Pauh? Nothing to boast about. Let someone new serve the people,” Abdul Razak said.
Out of touch
A sundry shop owner who would only identify herself as Sharifah, from Permatang Tok Kandu, said she welcomed the decision of the people to unseat Nurul Izzah.
“Anwar’s family has failed to deliver any developments to Permatang Pauh,” she said.
She said Nurul Izzah appeared to be out of touch with the locals in the semi-rural constituency on the Penang mainland, where 74 percent of voters are Malay.
“An elected representative must be a local and he or she must regularly meet the people to know the local issues and address the issues.
“Not someone who is thinking that she is the daughter of a former deputy prime minister and goes around with an ego, and like a celebrity meeting the people,” she added.
In contrast, Fawwaz, 39, is the local division PAS Youth chief and Penang PAS Youth chief.
He contested in the Penanti state seat in 2018 but lost to Norlela.
A father to 11 children, he is the chief executive of Yayasan Darul Hadis Al Filfilaniyyah, which runs tahfiz schools and conducts other religious activities.
On her part, Nurul Izzah has accepted the defeat with grace.
“The chance to represent Permatang Pauh in the Dewan Rakyat is one of the biggest honours of my life,” she said in her message of thanks on social media the day after the election.
She said her period as Permatang Pauh MP is important to her because this was where she piloted a multidimensional study on poverty post-Covid-19, and now that study is used by the Economic Planning Unit to guide its measure of poverty.
“I congratulate those who have been given the mandate. Every position comes with responsibilities and obligations.
“May this mandate be taken up with a sense of responsibility, care, and wisdom,” she said.
She also assured her supporters that it will not be the end of her political journey.
“Don’t worry, comrades. With some effort and prayer, God-willing, I’ll be back,” Nurul Izzah said.
Anwar first won the parliamentary seat from PAS in 1982 on the BN ticket and the family has held onto the seat for 36 years.
The seat was vacant from 1999 to 2004. In the 2004 general election, his wife Wan Azizah won the seat.
Anwar became the MP of Permatang Pauh again after contesting a by-election in 2008, while Wan Azizah returned as MP there in 2015 when Anwar went to jail for the second time. - Mkini
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