Only small swing in Chinese votes despite PAS’ reduced winning majority

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By Cindi Loo - TheAntDaily.com

Barisan Nasional has been claiming a moral victory for reducing the winning margin of PAS in the recent Sungai Limau state by-election in Kedah. More importantly, in the eyes of BN, it has regained the confidence of the Chinese voters.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak proclaimed there was an increase in support by the Chinese as indicated by two ballot boxes from Chinese-majority areas that went to BN.

"Previously, we lost the contest for the seat by a 2,774-vote majority, but now we have reduced it to 1,084-vote majority. It shows that there is a trend of increased support for BN,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

But PAS promptly disputed Najib’s reading, saying that the voter turnout was smaller than it was in the May 5 general election.

Only 85.5 per cent of the voters cast their ballots during the Nov 3 by-election, compared with the 89.2 per cent turnout in the May 5 polls.

PAS Sungai Limau by-election committee director Datuk Mahfuz Omar reportedly said the Chinese voters are some of the strongest PAS supporters, but did not cast their votes this time.

“Many did not come to vote because they probably did not know which candidate to pick as they felt it would not make any difference. We also know many of them did not return to vote,” he said.

When contacted, socio-political analyst Viktor Wong said the Chinese swing, if any, had minimal impact as the percentage of the actual swing is relatively small.

“This swing [back to BN] cannot be used as a reference [point] that the entire Chinese population is doing the same,” he told theantdaily through email.

He also said local issues dominated the by-election, such as a long-standing feud between the late Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak and Pangkalan Kundor assemblyman Datuk Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi.
Azizan was the Sungai Limau assemblyman and Kedah menteri besar during the 2008-2013 term, while Phahrolrazi was a state executive council member under Azizan’s administration.

Their bickering boiled over when Phahrolrazi refused to be reappointed when there was a reshuffle of portfolios under the PAS state government.

“Because of this rivalry, many PAS supporters revolted waving the black and white PAS flag and banners as a show of displeasure towards Azizan,” said Wong.

“It also affected the Chinese supporters as well, which caused the fall of the PAS state government in GE13,” he added.

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