Victory in Permatang Pauh, no matter how slim for Umno, would be a bonus and necessary psychological boost for the party, which together with its component partners - MCA and Gerakan - lost Penang to Pakatan Rakyat in 2008.

permatang pauh by election results map 260808 A win there would be especially sweet, since PKR has been trumpeting its head honcho and Permatang Pauh MP Anwar Ibrahim as the country's seventh prime minister, after Najib Abdul Razak.

Umno plans to snatch the parliamentary seat despite the opposition leader's landslide victory of 31,195 votes in the August 2008 by-election against Umno's Arif Shah Omar Shah's 15,524 votes, while a third candidate garnered 92 votes.

Umno felt an added push to go for the seat when Anwar declared that he may head for Perak, surprising even his own party leaders and supporters - but this may just be the former deputy prime minister's ‘election strategy' of confusing rivals.

State Umno liaison chief Zainal Abidin Osman said Anwar's decision could be due to the party considering a very good candidate for Permatang Pauh in the coming election, which must be called by June 28.

Zainal Abidin said one of the potential candidates - other than those under consideration by the party's division there - was someone holding a high position in a government-linked company, is local born and a former PAS Youth leader.

Speculation is high that Umno is planning to field Telekom Malaysia general manager Dr Mazlan Ismail, but Zainal Abidin declined to confirm this, saying it was pending Najib's approval, which should be by today when he meets the BN chairman in Putrajaya.

Sermons powerful political factor

"He is not a typical Umno man. He has been giving khutbah in mosques and surau, and is thus supported by the locals in Permatang Pauh," Zainal Abidin told Malaysiakini .

"This is one of the reasons why Anwar thinks that his support in Permatang Pauh is dwindling, that Umno is planning to put up a good candidate and it would be too risky for him to take the chance there," added the Umno supreme council member.

NONE Zainal Abidin ( left ) also listed two recent events which had probably influenced Anwar's sudden decision to shift constituencies ahead of the dissolution of Parliament, which will automatically be dissolved on April 29.

They include a last-minute ceramah in Guar Perahu - in the Permatang Pauh constituency - featuring former PKR Kulim-Bandar Bahru MP Zulkifli Noordin, which attracted about 1,000 locals.

That night, PKR supporters turned up in large numbers - about 500 - to boo the speakers and try to disrupt the event for being held in a school, though no physical violence was reported.

The other is a PKR event held close to the home of Zainal Abidin's 91-year old father in Nibong Tebal, a nearby parliamentary constituency, where only 300 out of the expected 3,000 people attended, he added.

"Anwar is well aware of how the Umno division in Permatang Pauh works. We having been serving and caring for the people there, doing the job of a parliamentarian when he goes round the country giving speeches," said Zainal Abidin, who is adviser to the Rural Development Ministry.

"We've mobilised close to 1,000 Umno Youth and Puteri supporters to go house-to-house to distribute flyers. Even hardcore PKR supporters are now opening their doors to us," he claimed.

NONE "They have been telling us that Anwar is no longer the same person they know.

"They are doubtful of his moral and character, after the circulation of various photographs and videos of him in sexually compromising positions," he added.

His view on this is similar to that of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who said Anwar, his former protege, was running away from his constituency as he was uncertain of winning again there.

However, these views were challenged by Penang PKR Youth vice-chairperson Dr Afif Baharuddin. who said Umno's potential candidate Mazlan does not have the support of its Permatang Pauh division, dismissing him as merely a "parachute politician".

azlan "We are confident of maintaining the seat, even winning with a higher majority. because following Pakatan's plan to seize Putrajaya, the people here want the next PM to come from Permatang Pauh," Afif said.

"If Umno is so confident, why isn't Najib dissolving Parliament yet? Ask him to do, and then we shall talk," added the medical doctor.

Penang Umno is targeting five parliamentary seats - Kepala Batas, Tasek Gelugor, Nibong Tebal, Balik Pulau and Permatang Pauh.

It won Kepala Batas, held by former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Tasek Gelugor, which is represented by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nor Mohamed Yakob in 2008 and Umno hopes to wrest at least one of the other three seats on mainlan Penang.

Under Permatang Pauh, Umno holds Seberang Jaya, while Penanti is held by Deputy Chief Minister I and state PKR chief Mansor Othman, while Permatang Pasir has state PAS commissioner Salleh Man as its assemblyperson.

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