It took just three days for the gloves to come off in the Kuala Besut by-election campaign, going from deliberate restraint to unabashed accusations across the political divide.

From nomination day on July 12 up to Sunday, any attacks launched by the BN and PAS camps were veiled and put across as “reminders”.

NONE On July 12, BN election deputy director Idris Jusoh (left) told a press conference that BN candidate Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman is better than his PAS opponent Azlan Yusof but stopped at that.

“You make your comparison. I don’t want to talk bad (things) about others,” he had said.

NONE Similar restraint was also seen during PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali’s (right) press conference the following day.

“I don’t want to say much about the BN candidate. It is not good for me to run down their candidate. It is not our style,” he said.

On July 13, PAS central committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad was moved to comment that this was the “coldest” election campaign he had seen.

He attributed this to Ramadan inertia or restraint, or fatigue due to the 13th general election concluded on May 5.

But that ended on Sunday when Deputy Agriculture Minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman went into DAP-bashing mode in urging voters to reject the PAS candidate.

Yesterday, PAS retaliated with Dzulkefly claiming that four local BN leaders own a large tract of beachfront land in Kuala Besut.

He named Idris as one of the purported landowners. Malaysiakini was unable to reach Idris for comment on the allegation.

NONE Last night, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who is known for his oratory skills, wasted no time in attacking the BN .

Although there were just some 100 people, it was the biggest ever turnout for a PAS ceramah in the campaign to date.

PAS election director Dr Hatta Ramli said the poor turnout is to be expected due to the fasting month of Ramadan.

He also claimed that people are also apprehensive about attending PAS functions in a BN stronghold.

Further limiting the effectiveness of ceramahs is that PAS has only a 90-minute window to hold such gatherings each night, since these can only be held after special Ramadan prayers and must end by midnight.

NONE He expressed the hope that the public address system will allow voters to hear speeches without leaving their homes.

Hatta (right) stressed, however, that the purpose of a ceramah is to show PAS’ presence in Kuala Besut, even though meet-and-greet visits are the main means of campaigning.

With eight days to go before polling day, the increase in BN and PAS banners and party flags along roads and major intersections are one indication that their campaigns are being cranked up.

When the Dewan Rakyat sitting ends on July 18 and parliamentarians make their way to Kuala Besut, expect the decibel level to go up as well.

Abdul Rahim Sabri, Koh Jun Lin, and Lee Long Hui are covering the campaign.

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