Teluk Intan a FALSE dawn for Gerakan
Mah Siew Keong’s victory in Teluk Intan has set Gerakan in the right trajectory but the party remains far from arriving at a revival, according to political analysts.
Mah, whose win saw him return as MP in the constituency that he previously served for two terms prior to 2008, scored a personal victory in the by-election rather than one for the party, the analysts added.
Senior political science lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Dr Arnold Puyok noted, however, that the win has given the party a new lease on life.
“Not to say a revival but, yes, it is a major boost for BN and especially Gerakan,” he told The Malay Mail Online via text message.
Gerakan was among the hardest hit in the so-called “political tsunami” in Election 2008 that swept it from power in Penang and saw its presence in Parliament dwindle from 10 seats to just two; this fell to a single Parliament seat in the 2013 general election.
Prior to the Teluk Intan by-election, Mah had categorised his bid as a “do-or-die” affair for both him and Gerakan.
He won by 238 votes over DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, reversing the 7,313-majority drubbing he received last year at the hands of the late Seah Leong Peng, the DAP MP whose death triggered the poll.
Dr Lim Teck Ghee, director for the Centre for Policy Initiatives, said the narrow win for the local boy was down to votes for Mah rather than outright support for the party.
Lim also said the Malay votes Mah garnered were not due to acceptance of Gerakan but the anti-DAP sentiments “fed by the Umno machinery”.
“It's too soon to say that Gerakan can turn its declining fortune around although its supporters would like to believe that.
“Much will depend on Mah's performance at Cabinet level, which will be closely watched to see if the party is prepared to not only speak out but also fight for its non-racial ideology,” Lim said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s promise to make Mah a minister if victorious in the poll.
Another analyst, Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said Mah also won by virtue of voters abstaining in protest of Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) recent problems.
“The Kajang by-election is the public show of arrogance that their on-the-fence supporters realised they are no different to BN in their attitude and taste,” he said.
“These voters have boycotted by not going out to vote. Bukit Gelugor and Teluk Intan the same voters are staying home.”
The Kajang by-election was engineered through the unforced resignation of PKR assemblyman CC Lee ostensibly to make way for Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to become Selangor mentri besar.
The plan failed when Anwar was convicted of sodomy days before nomination and disqualified from entry.
Puyok also said there was too much focus on candidates and parties but not on the importance to vote.
“Parties should double their effort at increasing the level of awareness among electorates on the importance of voting,” he said.- MMO
Mah, whose win saw him return as MP in the constituency that he previously served for two terms prior to 2008, scored a personal victory in the by-election rather than one for the party, the analysts added.
Senior political science lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Dr Arnold Puyok noted, however, that the win has given the party a new lease on life.
“Not to say a revival but, yes, it is a major boost for BN and especially Gerakan,” he told The Malay Mail Online via text message.
Gerakan was among the hardest hit in the so-called “political tsunami” in Election 2008 that swept it from power in Penang and saw its presence in Parliament dwindle from 10 seats to just two; this fell to a single Parliament seat in the 2013 general election.
Prior to the Teluk Intan by-election, Mah had categorised his bid as a “do-or-die” affair for both him and Gerakan.
He won by 238 votes over DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, reversing the 7,313-majority drubbing he received last year at the hands of the late Seah Leong Peng, the DAP MP whose death triggered the poll.
Dr Lim Teck Ghee, director for the Centre for Policy Initiatives, said the narrow win for the local boy was down to votes for Mah rather than outright support for the party.
Lim also said the Malay votes Mah garnered were not due to acceptance of Gerakan but the anti-DAP sentiments “fed by the Umno machinery”.
“It's too soon to say that Gerakan can turn its declining fortune around although its supporters would like to believe that.
“Much will depend on Mah's performance at Cabinet level, which will be closely watched to see if the party is prepared to not only speak out but also fight for its non-racial ideology,” Lim said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s promise to make Mah a minister if victorious in the poll.
Another analyst, Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said Mah also won by virtue of voters abstaining in protest of Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) recent problems.
“The Kajang by-election is the public show of arrogance that their on-the-fence supporters realised they are no different to BN in their attitude and taste,” he said.
“These voters have boycotted by not going out to vote. Bukit Gelugor and Teluk Intan the same voters are staying home.”
The Kajang by-election was engineered through the unforced resignation of PKR assemblyman CC Lee ostensibly to make way for Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to become Selangor mentri besar.
The plan failed when Anwar was convicted of sodomy days before nomination and disqualified from entry.
Puyok also said there was too much focus on candidates and parties but not on the importance to vote.
“Parties should double their effort at increasing the level of awareness among electorates on the importance of voting,” he said.- MMO
