Comment All of a sudden, we have another by-election on our hands, this time at the Permatang Pasir state constituency in Penang, a straight fight between Umno and PAS.

The opening gambit has not been good for the Umno candidate Rohaizat Othman. The Bar Council had clarified that Rohaizat was struck off the rolls in March last year due to professional misconduct. The complaint involved misappropriation of some RM161,000 in a property transaction that was aborted.

NONE For any lawyer, to be struck off the rolls because of misappropriation of clients' account is probably the greatest disgrace possible. In one fell swoop, the lawyer's integrity and professional reputation often go up in smoke overnight.

A client deposits a huge sum of money to a lawyer in full confidence that the money would never be lost in any way. That confidence is sacrosanct.

Pakatan Rakyat super big guns such as Lim Kit Siang of the DAP and Mahfuf Omar of PAS have painted the town red with this "scandal", taunting Umno for having no properly qualified candidates and suggesting that they should withdraw this candidate to honour the process of democratic election.

Earlier, the Umno Vice president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had tried to defend Rohaizat, by blaming the latter's partner for the problem that led to the revocation of his lawyer's practising licence.

But the Malaysian Bar Secretary had come out with the damning revelation by saying that "The finding of misconduct is personal to Rohaizat, as the (advocates and solicitors) disciplinary board would not hold a lawyer liable for the actions of his/her law partner(s)." Rohaizat's appeal to the high court over the board's decision was dismissed on August 12 this year.

Victim of circumstances

NONE It would appear that Umno heavyweights will spend the entire campaign period explaining to the Permatang Pasir voters why Rohaizat ( right ) is the victim of circumstances by blaming his former partner.

What if his former partner decides to stand up to clear his name by pointing the finger back at Rohaizat or even sue him for defamation? That would kaput the entire BN campaign!

A by election is different from a general election, in that the candidate is under the national microscope. He must be squeaky clean, with no personal or professional blemishes. Any personal stain no matter how minute will subject him to a deluge of verbal gunfire that puts the party on the defensive, thereby crippling the election campaign.

We can only speculate as to how Umno vet their candidate in this particular by-election. Umno Penang is reported to be plagued by warlordism, which explains why they have had the problem coming up with a better candidate.

The Permatang Pasir constituency is one of the state seats that form the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat. The Permatang Pauh Umno division has always been known for its internal strife involving several factions at one another's throats. Factions have been known to sabotage their party candidates in past party and general elections.

Umno leaders warned

The problem is so severe that 2 days before Rohaizat was named the Umno candidate, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is also the Umno Penang Chief had issued a warning that Umno leaders and members found sabotaging the party during the Permatang Pasir by-election would be expelled within 60 days.

But the candidate's moral integrity is just the beginning of Umno's problem in Permatang Pasir.

After the slim PAS victory in Manik Urai by-election, some strategists sitting deep within the bowels of Umno might have interpreted the result as a resurgence of Umno among the Malay heartland of West Malaysia.

They probably thought of winning back the Malay votes lost to PAS and PKR in the next general election, and with that -- coupled with some PAS defection -- they can then hold on to power, irrespective of how other BN component parties shall perform.

NONE In recent months, despite the PM's slogan of 1Malaysia, Umno has reverted to the kind of visceral racial politics of the past, especially after the Teoh Beng Hock ( left ) affair.

The Umno propaganda sheet Utusan Malaysia has been particularly toxic in their reports and commentary in recent weeks, calling Anwar Ibrahim a traitor to the Malay race, and branding PAS as a tool of the DAP to oppress the Malays.

Whether this campaign of racial politics will draw Malay support in Permatang Pauh is yet to be seen; the Malays in Penang may be vastly different from the Malays in Kelantan. After all, in Permatang Pasir, the Malays have Anwar Ibrahim as their MP, and their only PAS state rep in a state government controlled by the PR coalition.

New politics birth throes

The Malays constitute some 72% of the voters in Permatang Pasir. If the Malay votes are more or less evenly split, the Chinese and Indian voters there could be king-maker, again.

The crucial question then is: how will the non-Malay voters pass their verdict on the spate of racial venom emitting from the Umno camp in recent weeks?

How will they express their rage on the tragic and mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock? How will all the voters decide on the financial haemorrhaging in the PKFZ black hole?

It all depends on how much DAP is going to campaign among the non-Malay voters in this PAS stronghold. Say what you like about the DAP, they are the undisputable leader in speaking out for the Chinese in Malaysia, drawing huge crowds to their dinners and ceramahs with their fiery speeches.

MCA and Gerakan are simply no match for them. This time though, they are speaking as the backbone of the Penang State government, a factor that counts the most among their Chinese constituents.

Young Malaysians may take it for granted, but we old dogs stare in amazement at the unimaginable sight of DAP campaigning alongside with PKR and PAS, a sign of the new politics that is struggling to be born.

The PR coalition may be unruly and component parties may be engaged in open ugly squabbles from time to time. But when it comes to the crunch, they still have this internal cohesion to stand side by side in their fight against their old enemy Umno.

Perhaps their common hatred for Umno far exceeds their dislike for one another!

Every by-election is an entirely new electoral contest. It is also a barometer of the current political situation in the country.

What the Permatang Pasir by-election shall tell us is whether the new politics of transcending racial and religious fault-lines practised by the PR coalition will prevail over the old politics of race still preached by Umno.

Pending last minute self-destruction by the PR coalition, PAS should win with a bigger margin in this by-election. Anything less should be seen as a set back for this opposition front.

SIM KWANG YANG can be reached at kenyalang578@hotmail.com