Penang Deputy Chief Minister (II) P Ramasamy today discounted the possibility that the Kampung Buah Pala fiasco could have swung Indian votes in favour of BN in the recent Bagan Pinang by-election.

"Several people have alluded to that but I'm not too sure of the extent of its effect," said Ramasamy. "That matter had been settled by the Penang government...we have given land for their homes and about 15 families have signed up for it."

Kampung Buah Pala was once famously known as Penang's Tamil High Chaparral for its population of cowherds, cattle, goats, other livestock, its unique and lively Indian cultural features and festivities. It was demolished last month to make way for a lucrative condominium project.

bukit gantang by election wan azizah ceramah 020109 03 Villagers accused the DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat state government of allowing the demolition of their houses.

PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Ismail ( right ), however, contended that issues faced by Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor may have had a detrimental effect on their image leading up to the Bagan Pinang polls.

"Pakatan received bad press due to issues in Selangor, like the beer issue. While these issues have been handled, the perception remains that Pakatan has not gotten its act together," said Wan Azizah, referring to the controversy surrounding Selangor Pas commissioner, Hasan Ali.

Both Wan Azizah and Ramasamy conceded that Pakatan was still new and as such cannot be compared to BN. "I'm not saying Pakatan is perfect but people cannot just expect change overnight. BN has been in power for 52 years, have they settled issues pertaining to the Indian community," said Ramasamy.

Odds stacked against Pakatan

The by-election in Bagan Pinang, dubbed a BN stronghold, saw BN's Isa Samad bag 8,013 votes while his rival, PAS' Zulkefly Mohamad Omar polled 2,578 votes.

Analysts said more than 60 percent of the Malay voters had backed Isa, a popular local icon, while almost 70 percent of non-Malays, with some 20 percent Indian voters, also joining in the support.

kampung buah pala penang p ramasamy meeting 120609 04 Ramasamy ( left ) downplayed Pakatan's loss in Bagan Pinang and said that they knew from the start that the odds were stacked against Pakatan's machinery.

"Bagan Pinang is also a military town, with nearly half the votes being postal votes. We thought we had a good chance with the Indians in housing areas but my visit to the estates showed that we had less support there," said Ramasamy.

Wan Azizah also agreed that the large number of postal voters and and ex-army personnel in Bagan Pinang made it an anomaly, and thus should not be an indicator of how well Pakatan will perform in the general election.

'Status quo often prevails'

The fielding of Isa as a candidate, according to Wan Azizah, was also a major factor in BN's win.

"He has been the MB for Negri Sembilan for so long that it is impossible not to know him. I'm not saying that he was the perfect candidate but the Bagan Pinang folk have made their choice," she said.

Wan Azizah also said that the windfall of Malay votes for BN did not indicate that Pakatan has lost its Malay supporters. "(The outcome) is not surprising because the status quo often prevails," she said.

"Bagan Pinang is not a reflection of Pakatan's weakness because we won all the other earlier by-elections, expect for the one in Batang Ai, Sarawak and now in Bagan Pinang.

"People are still watching Pakatan and are still deciding on who to vote for in the next general election," added Wan Azizah.