Just three days into Bukit Gantang by-election campaign, there are signs indicating that PAS would be securing the bulk of the non-Malay votes in the area.

The Chinese community for example have been thronging DAP and PKR organised functions, which have raised a substantial amount in campaign funds - a sure sign of trouble for rivals MCA and Gerakan.

From his various public appearances, PAS candidate Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin is a hit with the non-Malays and hardly needs introductions since he was Perak menteri besar in the Pakatan Rakyat's 11-month rule.

bukit gantang by election nomination day crowd people shots 300309 04 However, the going appears to be tough for PAS in securing the Malay votes. A party source said the latest survey showed that only 40 percent of Malays supported the party candidate.

History is also against PAS. The seat was an Umno stronghold until 2008. Even then, PAS officials estimated that it only won 47 percent of Malay votes.

But now, PAS is facing an Umno onslaught, rejuvenated by its just concluded general assembly and having a host of thorny issues to play with.

Chief among the issues raised by Umno leaders is PAS candidate Mohd Nizar being a DAP stooge and that he had committed derhaka (treason) against the sultan.

Various leaflets portraying Mohd Nizar as a communist leader and DAP agent have been making rounds in the Malay-dominated areas.

During nightly ceramah rounds, the same message is being repeatedly, latched on by Umno leaders.

DAP puppet, derhaka

"DAP did not have any Malay state assemblyperson. Even if they had just one Malay state rep among their 18 (seats), (Mohd) Nizar would not have been made menteri besar.

bukit gantang pas ceramah kpg jepong 310309 02 "Therefore, he is a DAP puppet. Do you think that with just six (PAS) state reps, (the party) would be made menteri besar (just like that)?" Umno supreme council member Noh Omar told a ceramah crowd in Changkat Jering last night.

Former PKR Youth chief turned Umno member Mohd Ezam Noor on the other hand attacked PAS for going against the sultan's decision in appointing Umno's Zambry Abd Kadir as the new menteri besar last month.

Admitting that Umno has had several run-ins with the palace on several occasions before, he said the party ultimately followed the instructions of the palace, as in the case of the palace rejecting BN-nominated menteris besar in Perlis and Terengganu last year.

bukit selambau by election ezam ceramah 310309 02 "When the palace decides, we don't fight back. But in Perak, when the sultan decided (to remove Mohd Nizar as menteri besar), they fought back and brought the matter to court," Mohd Ezam told a crowd of 300 Malays in Taman Kaya, Simpang, on Sunday night.

More of the same is expected during a planned mammoth ceramah in Dataran Bukit Gantang tonight, where Mohd Ezam, Zambry and BN candidate Ismail Saffian would be speaking.

Such issues are bound to touch a raw nerve among the Malay voters, who are generally suspicious of the Chinese-based liberal secularist DAP and regard the palace as sacrosanct.

PAS fighting back

This has put PAS on the defensive and a defeat on April 7 would be disaster for the party as they have fielded a very high profile candidate.

The party estimates that fence-sitters among the Malay voters to be around 20 percent and it is going all out to woo these group of voters.

bukit gantang parliamentary seat 090209 Top PAS leaders such as party president Abdul Hadi Awang and vice-president Mohammad Sabu in their nightly addresses have also been actively answering Umno's allegations.

The party has also been heavily distributing flyers accusing Umno of having gone against the palace in numerous instances over the past 20 years.

The flyers are complete with early 80s and 90s news clippings from Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, chronicling such incidents.

The flyer war is another part of PAS' campaign. They has been vigilantly monitoring Umno's messages and counter-attacking with their series of posters.

But it is early days for PAS' campaign and there is still time to gain ground. However, should PAS retain its level of support garnered at the March 2008 elections, it should cruise to a comfortable victory.

Additional reporting by Kuek Ser Kuang Keng and Lee Way Loon .

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