The outcome of the Tuesday's Manik Urai by-election was a complete surprise to many of us.
If you believe the Pas hype -- the party had in its hands 2,000 votes (majority) an hour before polling ended -- you'd think Pas would be romping home with a big win.
On Umno's side, grassroots leaders talked of "reduced majority", although top party leaders indicated that it had a 'good chance' of winning. Nobody quite believed that. And if you did, you'd be disappointed simply because you'd wish that Umno could've done a little better, and win.
The results -- Pas won BUT by a miserable 65-vote majority.
( Pas candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah obtained 5,348 votes while Barisan Nasional's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, 5,283. In last year's general election, Pas' Ismail Yaakob defeated Mohamed Zulkifli Omar of the Barisan Nasional (BN) with a majority of 1,352 votes.)
How bad is it for Pas?
Pas spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat is not about to be pushed to a corner and take the blame. A little responsibility, perhaps, but not sole blame.
He is blaming it on Umno' money politics.
If that is so, then, the voters are a very corrupt lot too. I'm not inclined to believe that they are.
In this round, I'd have to disagree with Nik Aziz.
Or, was it wrong for the voters to have been convinced by Umno that it could help change their lives for the better?
If it were money politics, as described by the Tok Guru, Umno would have been slaughtered. No mercy.
You cannot deny Umno's markedly improved performance. And credit MUST surely go to Mustapa Mohamad, Kelantan Umno chief.
Pas has a lot of work to do now. A lot of cleaning up.
And it's really not complicated to understand what happened and why. But Pas must accept the reality, the truth, no matter how ugly and how brutal. the sooner it works to mend fences and rectify the situation, the better it is for the party.
A combination of factors - Pas' "unholy marriage" with DAP is not going down well among many Malays; as well as the infighting and rift in the party. And of course, Tok Pa.
That said, Umno must get over the high, the jubilation. And quickly. Yes, it is a moral victory. Still a defeat.
Whether this is a signal of what's to come remains to be seen and depends on how Pas overcomes whatever shortcomings.
Besides, nothing is permanent.
28 comments:
I think it is the unholy planned marriage between Umno and PAS which is pissing the Malays off. Thus message delivered to PAS in MU.
DAP and Pas were in one team when they swept 5 states out of BN's feet and still are. Me guessing, malays have no issues in that....
Very good article, very pro BN. How's your new job? Good pay and perks? Enjoy the dirty money you are earning...as you said it NOTHING IS PERMANENT.
Dear Nuraina,
I do agree with you. PAS need to do a lot of soul searching... One thing that I do not understand until now is that if PAS can talk and work with others THEN WHY can't PAS talk with UMNO/BN? PAS must EXPLAIN and give "DALIL" for such an action!
I believe that some people who had voted PAS in the last GE2008 may have changed their perception by now and I am one of them since I cannot comprehend on why I cannot talk and work together with UMNO/BN people as 1Malaysia.
ha ha kak there u go..
so what yr take on umno bribery inmanik urai..pls dont me that u dont know..
u mean to say...UMNO with MCA is holy ..but...PAS with DAP is unholy.....educated ppl needs a proper explanation by a so called intelectual plogger
Quote :
Pas' unholy marriage with DAP is not going down well among many Malays. The infighting and rift in the party is also a factor in pushing the return of Umno's supporters.
So says Nuraina Samad, some say its UMNO/PAS unity talks, I am inclined to think both are true, depending on whether the voer was a harliner or erdogan supporter, if anything Manik Urai is a microcosm of the PAS split at the macro level.
PAS must come to terms that it has lost support, but BN cannot claim total acceptence either.
The winners are the Manik Urai people who sent a message to both sides, as neither has captured the middle ground.
I agree with Nuraini in a sense that blaming it solely on money politics will not help.
Vijay Kumar Murugavell
'A bridge for a vote'- BN's 'tactic' in MU is morally wrong.
vani,
perhaps, yes that too (Pas-Umno). if that is teh case, then those who purportedly despise the unity talks must have rejected Pas and voted Umno.
DAP and Pas were not in one team in the elections. Their alliance never went well in the past. after PRU12, they sealed their deal.
i'm not a voter there. that aside, the fact is Pas got only 65.
go figure
anon@10:39AM,
if you cannot give constructive criticisms, don't.
Pro-BN? You must be an idiot.
Dirty money? Who the hell do you think you are?
You know where I work, come on over.
anon@11:29AM,
what are you blabbering about?
anon@11;43am,
No.. i'm not the one saying it, stupid,.
It's the people i talked to who say that Pas-DAP is unholy alliance.
MCA-Umno....holy or not...they have been together openly.
you want to argue, argue well-lah..
the fact is Pas got thrashed. pas won, but not a good win.
even that, you cannot accept, susah-lah.
alrawa,
sure, you can argue that way.
I've never agreed with this kind of tactic. politics does strange things to people.
but, you know...there are worse tactics out there.
Bila bercakap pasal kerajaan pusat..AMANAH la..tanggungjawab laa..bila sebut kerajaan negeri pula...hampas..xde kemampuan laa
bila sebut umno..haram laa..kapir laa..masuk neraka laaa..
bila sebut pas..halal laa..islam laa..masuk syurga laa..
yang baik semua nak sapu..yang buruk bagi orang lain..inikah sikap islam pas..
semoga dilaknat oleh ALLAH swt hendaknya orang2 pas yang bertopengkan islam tetapi memperhambakan dap dan anuar aljuburi.
I think that this is quite a neutral article. I agree that Pas should stop blaming others for its poor performance. If BN used money politics, it is nothing new. Yet in GE 12 Pas was able to win big despite BN's tactics. If Pas ignores the need for improving the Kelantan government's performance,it will surely be at their own peril.
kah kah kah
lawak la you
why sudden change?
hairan juga org macam you bole konar 360% sekelip mata bila dapat habuan macam your buddy rocky
Dear Mrs Nuraina
I enjoy reading your views and experiences related to the final days of your father.But for this blog entry, I disagreed that the Malays from Manek Urai did not approved the 'unholy marriage' between PAS & DAP. It was the combination of PAS's internal rifts, UMNO's money politics and their hope in 1Malaysia. They want beyond the political promises of PAS and UMNO. They want a united,stable and progressive Malaysia with deep Malay-Islamic values. That's all
Right, Nuraina.
PAS won. By a MISERABLE 65 extra chips. Despite crowing having 2000 birds already in hand.
Can't we all see. The tide turneth. BN is resurgent. So confident with that MORAL victory it thought fit to sic the country with a raft of fare increases come Aug 1.
BTW. Why so bristly? Feisty? Nah. That was already licensed to the good Kak of AP fame. Ramadhan cometh. Good time to practice restraint. Even when exposed to dunderheads.
And especially if you want to give Josie of STAR a run for her money.
Take care.
It is indeed a strange alliance between PAS and DAP. It is like mixing oil and water.
The folks at Manik Urai are simple kampong folks who are bound together by the nearest mosque. They are not concerned about extravagant living and are greatly influenced by their peers. They probably know all their neighbours, mainly other simple minded Malay folks. They view Islam as an important part of their social fabric. Although they do not openly offend the non Muslims, it is a known fact that they will support their fellow Muslims more than they would others. They were brought up close knit and to a certain extent, made to believe that non-conformists to their religion are infidels.
When their perceived holy leader and most revered Tok Guru decided to team up with 'DAP infidels', that seems to be the academic point of contention.
Past false pacts between PAS and DAP have proven unfruitful and in the current lose relationship within PR, these simple folks simply cannot fathom the complexity or its rationale.
They would rather befriend a fellow Muslim from UMNO rather than 'A Chinese from DAP'. And that is a reality.
And the younger generation over there want a better home, better facilities and all. They are tired of walking and want a bicycle before asking for a motor bike, and later a car.
To cut the story short, they are fed up with the inconvenient marriage or simply cannot understand why their Tok Guru has a soft spot for the 'infidels'.
They showed their displeasure at the polls.
The above is a personal theory, not to be swallowed hook, line and sinker.
A GOOD MAN DOES NOTHING.
anon:2:32PM,
kahkahkah...lawak-lah you....
tak faham apa yang di tulis...
kahkahkah...bodoh nya..
mullah TTDI,
perhaps not.
and, yes...you're right. a combination of factors. but which is over-arching, we can't quite say.
but i wouldn't put it on money-politics. my point is, Pas has got to face the truth that it got thrashed. if Umno got thrashed in a similar way in tis own turf, i'd say the same thing.
If it was money politics, it would have been easy to counter Umno.
in the last elections, Umno supporters turned away because of what they perceived or believed Umno had become -- arrogant andd corrupt.
If it were money politcs, so easy to reject Umno. pas would have won by a bigger majority.
Let's face it, Tok Pa was an asset to umno in Manik Urai.
And if there are idiots out there who cannot see the truth, they are as bad as those Umno die-hards who are in denial...
"...A combination of factors - Pas' "unholy marriage" with DAP is not going down well among many Malays; ..."
of all the possibilities, you point to this one when it is proven beyond doubt that supporters of both parties voted for each other is the previous GE. why? well, i never thought that people could change their position so fast...just like what rais yatim used to be...
"perhaps, yes that too (Pas-Umno). if that is teh case, then those who purportedly despise the unity talks must have rejected Pas and voted Umno."
wouldn't this be a greater possibility? pas internal problem has divided it's members and supporters...and if I am a voter there, i will vote against them just to show my displeasure even when i am against BN, especially when the end result wouldn't affect anything at all...and when so many development (read:bribe) is given by the holy UMNO.
i think you should stop hiding behind the mask of being a neutral observer...you are not....you writings prove it...
balanced article? bull shit!
compare you writings 2 years ago with those now...
KaKiaYam
"...And if there are idiots out there who cannot see the truth, they are as bad as those Umno die-hards who are in denial..."
well, even though i am no supporter of Pas, i am willing to be an idiot than one without integrity...
KaKiaYam
chickenfeet,
hello idiot.
Every times BN come up with various offers to deliver this and that as part of their political campaign strategies, the tendency is that those ideas going to be condemned like hell. But then if the oppositions' political campaigns laden with all sort of promises including once in a life time chance to tour the heaven, nobody dare to open their mouth and say "it is also a kind of unethical conduct!". Wow, getting more and more sassy hypocrites aroud!!!
ANTIPERAK
Dear Madam,
I like the way you tell off those people. They deserve it. If they don't know how to be civil, they should indeed shut up or attend civics courses somewhere.
I just want to say that Dato Mustapha appears to be a good and reliable man. I read about him quietly arranging for private tuition or computer classes in his constituency. That's the kind of men we want among the Malays.
Now that you have a significant role in NST, I hope you would periodically search out and publish such activities carried out by non-glory seeking, unselfish and sincere Malays. They may be difficult to come by these days but you have considerable resources nation wide.
Best wishes to you.
"....I just want to say that Dato Mustapha appears to be a good and reliable man. I read about him quietly arranging for private tuition or computer classes in his constituency. That's the kind of men we want among the Malays...."
ha ha ha, what a joke that is. Anyone who has attended school in Kelantan will know how attention seeking this fella is...
Quietly arranging tuition? I wonder how quiet will that be, that you happen to 'read' about it? you must be well read huh....?
There is not a single good person in UMNO leadership, not to mention a person with good character or a good muslim.
Many students in Kelantan asrama school can attest to the fact that this mustapha used to visit these school and force these innocent students to chants 'Hidup Melayu', , 'Hidup UMNO' and worst of all 'Hidup Mustapha' repeatedly. What's that for, may I ask? And you know who's the cheer leader,....hehe....his wife.
I wonder what is your qualification for one to be consider good and reliable? I guess, we must be from different planet...
"...publish such activities carried out by non-glory seeking, unselfish and sincere Malays. .."
for what purpose may i ask? and if I may suggest, perhaps those pakcik selling pisang goreng by the roadside makes better candidates.... at least the earn an honest living...
but i just hate it when these pakcik started to spit on the floor when we happen to mention the name UMNO during our discussion...
"...They may be difficult to come by these days but you have considerable resources nation wide...."
of course, of course, everything changes when something changes. I seriously wonder, if certain people were not re-instated to their 'rightful' position, would they write what they are writing now?
but I thank God that all these are allow to happen so that we could see who stands for what...
KaKiaYam
Hi Nuraina,
I disagree with your opinion on this
If Umno and it's supporter thinks they gained significant amount of Malays support they are in for a big surprise later.
Kelantanese are politically very savvy people, they're mindset regarding national election and by-election is very different, and who cares about MU election result now, the "MACC suicide (alleged) affair" have erased all interest and momentum gained, 1 step forward 5 steps backward.
Kickdefella have done a very detailed analysis on this issue, check it out.
http://kickdefella.wordpress.com/
umno may have openly celebrated their "victory" (that great man mahathir used to say a win is a win even by 1 vote -remember his narrow victory over ku li). the fact is bn desperately needs a victory for najib especially after turning out 2nd best in previous bye-elections save 1 sarawak dun (boats carrying ballots papers capsized... votes not counted at polling stations as usually done). can u explain 87% turnout in very ulu constituency? u cant get it even in penang or kl. which hantu did it? deep inside they are lamenting that despite their "clean strategy", that highly hoped-for destination is still elusive. deep inside they know in a level playing field they can never, never win. no thanks to spr aka suruhanjaya penyelewengan pilihanraya.
from: altantuno
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