The recent Kemaman by-election is essentially a clear-cut case. The initial winner of the seat from Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) in the 15th General Election (GE15) had their victory nullified by the Terengganu Election Court.
However, in the by-election, PAS successfully retained the seat with their candidate, Che Alias Hamid, winning by a significant majority of 27,179 votes against candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN), Pejuang, and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
PAS’ dominance in Terengganu is evident as they won all 33 seats in the state legislature during the same election.
The party’s prospects were further boosted by fielding Terengganu MB Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, popularly known as Dr Sam, who is a technocrat and an aerospace engineer by training.
His background and approach during his tenure as Terengganu chief executive have strengthened PAS’ hold on the East Coast state, making him a popular figure.
Dr Sam defeated his opponent, retired general and former defence forces chief Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor of BN, with a significant majority of 37,220 votes in a straight fight.
However, BN’s lower vote count and loss of nearly 11,000 votes compared to the last GE raise concerns.
When adding the votes of PH, the PH-BN alliance lost approximately 19,000 votes in Kemaman within a year of their administration in Putrajaya.
Critics, including estranged UMNO member Isham Jalil, expressed dissatisfaction with BN’s performance and warned against downplaying PAS’ victory.
Isham highlighted the loss of faith in the party and its direction, particularly in what used to be an UMNO stronghold like Kemaman.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad analyzed the by-election and PAS’ landslide victory, suggesting that UMNO would be wiped out in the upcoming 16th General Election (GE16) due to its collaboration with DAP, their former archnemesis turned partner in the federal government.
Isham responded to Dr Mahathir’s prediction by stating that UMNO lost votes as fence-sitters chose to support the opponent or abstain from the by-election.
Analysts echoed Isham’s views and those of Dr Mahathir, noting the diminishing support for UMNO, which led to the party losing a significant number of votes.
The prevailing narrative suggests that UMNO, after GE15, has relied on non-Malay support from Pakatan parties to secure election victories, as they are rapidly losing their Malay support base.
This perception has been ongoing since the state elections in six states in August when Perikatan Nasional (PN) – PAS and Bersatu – managed to capture the majority of Malay votes at the expense of UMNO. However, the UMNO leadership disregarded the criticism and pretended as if nothing had happened.
It is frustrating to witness the current state of politics in the country, with both sides leaning towards extremes.
PAS rallies conservatives and gains more supporters, while Pakatan parties lean towards and cater to a more liberal approach and base. Both sides remain unmoved and unassailable due to fear of the other, creating a chicken-and-egg situation where each blames the other for the country’s problems.
The void in the centre, represented by centrism, was expected to be filled by UMNO and BN. However, they failed to capitalize on this approach to attract fence-sitters and fair-thinking Malaysians.
UMNO must take action and reconsider its path for the sake of its future and the future of the country.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Sarawak Tribune.
