Survey: BN to win if snap polls held now in Perak

Pakatan Rakyat is likely to lose in Perak if state elections were to be held today.

A study by the independent think-tank Ilham Centre has shown that public support has swung back to BN, cemented with the recent court rulings in its favour.

In a poll of 1,031 people in the Kuala Sepetang state constituency last month, the centre surveyed Malays (59.96%), Chinese (31.67%), Indians (8.34%) and ‘Others’ (0.03%) to mirror the Perak population closely.

“More than 55 percent of those surveyed said that BN would win if there were to be a state election now,” said Ilham Centre’s managing director Mohd Azlan Zainal while presenting the study in a forum titled ‘Abuse of Federalism: Its Implications on the Judicial Institution in Malaysia’ last night.

The study also found that a higher number of respondents was of the opinion that the BN state government was legitimate - with 39.2 percent agreeing as opposed to 31 percent, while almost one-third, 26.8 percent, said they don’t know.

At the same time, 37 percent agreed with the court ruling confirming that BN’s Zambry Kadir was the lawful MB, while 30 percent disagree, with those who don’t know at 28 percent.

Mohd Azlan also said that while the bulk of Pakatan support still lies with the Chinese - 68 percent of whom considered the BN state government illegal - Malay support has dwindled by seven to 10 percent.

            

“Pakatan can also still count on their base of urban, young and educated voters to favour them in the next elections,” he said.

                                     

However, former Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who was one of the speakers at the forum, questioned the findings.

He added that in his Bukit Gantang by-election win last April, never had a PAS candidate enjoyed that much non-Malay support especially from the Chinese-majority Kuala Sepetang area, contributing to his comfortable 2,789 vote majority.

“Never has there been any higher form of racial tolerance in Perak than after the 12th general elections,” he said to thunderous applause from the 500 strong crowd.

‘State sec sabotaged Pakatan’

Nizar once again raised eyebrows when he reiterated that the Perak state secretary was instrumental in the BN takeover last year.

“Immediately after Pakatan took over in the March 2008 general elections, (Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim) has been working to sabotage us,” he said.        

He claimed that the minutes of exco meetings have been systematically leaked to Umno within  half an hour after they have concluded.

Nizar also said that he met with Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, requesting to replace Abdul Rahman, but was advised to go through the proper channels.

“I then met chief secretary to the government Sidek Hassan as well, telling him that the state government cannot work with Abdul Rahman.

“But all Sidek Hassan did was to give me that smug look (muka lembu kenyang), and I am sure he thought that we deserved this,” he said.

In the run-up to the political crisis in Perak, Abdul Rahman along with state legal adviser Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid were known to be key players in the coup.

They were subsequently suspended by the Pakatan state government, but were later reinstated by the new administration.

Nizar defends walkout

When fielding questions from the floor, Nizar also defended his walkouts and protests at the recent state assembly sitting.

“Our microphones were switched off, the chambers were filled with police, and reporters from the alternative media were kept in an aquarium where they could not hear a thing.

“It was an improper sitting and we had no choice but to walk out,” he said, maintaining that the tactics would be understood by Perakians.

Among the speakers at the forum, which was organised by Ilham Centre, were Subang MP R Sivarasa, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa law professor Abdul Aziz Bari and legal expert Sulaiman Abdullah.