A lack of enthusiasm would probably sum up the first half of the Kerdau by-election campaign, as the BN currently blots out PAS’ visibility with a more organised election machinery and media coverage hitting the right audience.

PAS’ campaign, and by extension Pakatan Rakyat’s, has been moving at a snail’s pace with the Islamist party pretty much left to its own devices for the first four days of campaigning against the full force of BN’s resources.

As it stands, Pakatan partners PKR and DAP only sent one senior representative each for PAS’ first ceramah on Saturday, before focussing much of their attention on Merlimau, Malacca where a separate by-election is running concurrently.

It was only on Tuesday night when DAP sent more representatives, in the form of Youth chief Anthony Loke, Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu and Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, to help out with the Kerdau contest.

Aside from the daily press conferences, PAS appears to be left in the dust of their opponents when it comes to the all-important ‘psy-war’, putting out far less campaign material while also lagging behind in media updates.

Conversely, BN had been sending in a steady stream of top leaders to woo the 8,999 registered voters in the largely Malay constituency.

The incumbents went full throttle from the start, with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak leading the charge as early as the second campaign day, focussing on the three Felda settlements where they have a significant voting base.

The three Felda areas - Jengka 22, 23 and 25 - when put together with the sole Felcra settlement in Kerdau, represent one-third of the total votes in the state constituency and are considered a steady vote bank for BN over the years.

But before PAS’ chances are written off in Kerdau, it appears the cavalry has arrived in the form of Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak).

Battleground is set

Anak’s entry into the campaign could well be a game changer for PAS, who like BN, are clearly gunning for the fat vote bank in the Felda settlements.

NONE By PAS’ own calculations, they lost terribly in the 2008 general election with less than 20 percent of the 1,600 voters who cast their ballots supporting their candidate Hassanuddin Salim - who is again contesting under their banner this time around.

The difference now is that Anak, under the leadership of PAS central committee member Mazlan Aliman (left) , presents a real threat to BN’s hold over Felda settlers, having successfully convinced a substantial number of settlers in other areas across the country to sue the government for allegedly cheating them.

And with the charismatic Mazlan, who is well-versed with all things Felda, hitting the campaign trail here, there is a strong likelihood that PAS could gain its long sought-after big break with the settlers’ votes.

Mazlan’s arrival also looks to fit in with the apparent Pakatan strategy to mislead BN by shoving the Buku Jingga in their faces early in the campaign.

While Pakatan leaders maintained that the Orange Book - which represents the opposition’s economic reform plan - forms the core of their campaign strategy, it appeared more of a ploy to distract the BN from their more critical strategies to woo Felda’s voters.

And it looks like BN has taken the bait.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin even went to the extent of stating at an event here that BN will “go to every campaign stop” to explain to voters why Pakatan’s reform plans are unrealistic and would only lead the nation to bankruptcy.

Starting today, Pakatan’s other big guns are finally going to make their campaign rounds with PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng coming in for at least one dinner function.

Possibly by then, the Kerdau by-election will actually start to look, and feel, like a full-blown contest for the hearts and minds of Malaysians here, and the rest of the country.

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