PAS maintains Chinese support, Umno race tactics a flop

BUKIT MERTAJAM— If the Permatang Pasir by-election was to gauge the effectiveness of Umno’s communal politicking, the results point to only one conclusion: failure.

Mohd Salleh Man, PAS Penang commissioner, beat Rohaizat Othman, the scandal-hit Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, with a majority of 4,551. The former garnered 9,618 votes against the latter’s 5,067.

PAS won in all Chinese dominated areas throughout the state constituency. From the suburbs of Sama Gagah and Cross Street to the semi-rural town of Permatang Pauh, the Islamist party thumped their Umno rivals with big majorities.

In Sama Gagah, where Umno and its allies in Barisan Nasional spent most of their time campaigning, PAS edged out its old foe by raking in 1,397 votes against Umno’s 594. In Cross Street, a DAP stronghold, Umno fell behind PAS with a 642 majority and in Permatang Pauh, the former gained 875 votes against Umno’s 354.

Campaigning materials depicted PAS as an extremist group; focussing on Chinese-sensitive issues like the pig abbattoir closure in Kedah and the beer sale issue in Selangor to regain much of the lost Chinese votes that went to Pakatan Rakyat in last year’s general elections.

But the Permatang Pasir results have shown that Umno’s racial attacks have not been effective, said PAS vice-president and Permatang Pasir by-election director Datuk Mahfuz Omar.

“The voters have completely rejected the kind of racist politics played by Umno and BN,” Mahfuz told a post-victory press conference in Permatang Pasir.

Mahfuz claimed observations made by the party indicate a similar voting trend from the 2008 general elections, where Chinese votes mainly went to PR and the Malay votes are equally spread among supporters from both sides of the fence.

“Just as what had happened in the general elections, it has happened again here which shows that the people want change and transparent governance, a government with integrity, something that Umno and BN cannot provide,” he added.

The continued support shown by the Chinese voters here is not the only barometer of Umno’s ineptitude at communal politics. Umno sang a different tune in Malay majority areas, portraying PAS as a party that has compromised Islamic values by being a stooge to a Chinese dominated party, the DAP.

This approach has also proven to be a failure. If Permatang Pasir is any gauge, Umno’s attacks have not gained much traction on the ground except among its own core supporters.

The results of yesterday’s by-election suggests a hardening of support on both sides of the political divide as PAS’s relentless attacks on Rohaizat’s candidacy also did not seem to have gained the party more votes.

Deputy Prime Minister and BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin, the leading man behind the party’s ongoing racial attack, yesterday admitted that there were no significant changes in Malay voting trend.

Rohaizat, on the other hand, hinted that his defeat was caused by “the failure of the Chinese community here to fulfill its vows of support” which is an indirect admission that the race card has not worked its magic for Umno and BN. (TMI)