YOURSAY ‘The swing in Chinese votes to BN is a protest against PAS.’
PKR retains Pmtg Pauh with smaller majority
Jiminy Qrikert: The light at the end of the tunnel illuminating the liberation of the rakyat from the yoke of Umno-BN oppression is still shining bright. The shadows it casts are ominous signs of impending defeat for Malay supremacists in Umno and PAS.
The Rompin and Permatang Pauh polls reveal several lessons. There is a slow but persistent erosion of Malay support for Umno, bubbling in the Malay heartland while coming to boil nicely in the progressive states.
Bread-and-butter concerns trump religious issues resulting in Umno-BN losing out on GST (goods and services tax) and PAS on hudud.
A very distinct pattern has emerged of PAS voters - those in the Malay heartland will rally to the ulama but those in the progressive states will rally to the PAS moderate leaders as demonstrated in Permatang Pauh despite an outright call by Abdul Hadi Awang to boycott PKR.
The Chinese swing to BN, however insignificant, is still a clear sign that the community will reject hudud and parties that push it. This swing will be magnified in the areas with larger Chinese voter base.
Kim Quek: The Permatang Pauh results have given us one important revelation regarding PAS.
The progressive faction led by Mohamad ‘Mat’ Sabu and Mujahid Yusof Rawa, supported by PasMa, exerted far greater influence on the grassroots and supporters of PAS than Hadi Awang’s faction of conservatives. This auger well for PAS and Pakatan.
It is hoped that the entire PAS hierarchy as well as the progressives will take cue from this election results - for the progressives to pick up the courage and grit to fight for the leadership of the party in the coming party election, and for the delegates to select a leadership that will truly lead the party to new heights in creating a better future for all Malaysians.
Ferdtan: With the expected low turnout, the majority obtained by Pakatan’s Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was quite impressive.
It was as predicted by PKR that the margin be from 8,000 to 10,000. However with the initial boycott by Permatang Pauh PAS branch and the non-support from its president Hadi Awang, the figure was revised downwards to as low as 5,000.
So who actually won in the by-election? Firstly PKR; the win will rejuvenate the party for a life without Anwar Ibrahim (in direct control) despite of allegations of nepotism by fielding Anwar’s wife.
Two, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu as the machinery in Permatang Pauh was led by him and aided by PAS Youth leader Suhaizan Kayat. It seemed that the relatively huge PKR winning majority came from PAS stronghold Permatang Pasir.
Pemerhati: For Permatang Pauh, the total number of votes cast in 2015 was lower by about 10,000 at 53,102 compared to 62,660 in 2013.
Since there was a drastic drop in the number of votes cast in 2015 when compared to 2013, a fairer method of comparing the overall support for Umno and PKR would be to calculate the percentage of votes obtained by each party instead of looking at the absolute numbers.
Tholu: The 30,316 votes Wan Azizah obtained against the 53,102 votes cast translates to a popular vote of 57.1%. This victory is superbly impressive.
The popular vote percentage very closely matches Anwar Ibrahim's popular vote of 58.56% in the 2013 general elections.
In fact if the voter turnout was higher than 74%, Wan Azizah could have surpassed her own husband’s impressive achievement.
Congratulations PKR. The results show that the Malays are solidly behind PKR despite PAS’ urging to their fellow Malay voters to boycott PKR and not to vote for it. The result clearly shows that the Malay voters in Permatang Pauh have rejected PAS’ hudud.
So, PKR and DAP, you can confidently exclude PAS from your alliance and still get majority Malay support.
The by-election result should jolt PAS into realising and acknowledging the fact that its future would be bleak if it is not in Pakatan, not vice versa.
Armchair Newspaper: The swing in Chinese votes to BN is protest against PAS. It is not the return to MCA or Gerakan.
It is a signal to PAS that it will stand to lose Chinese votes in the coming election if it persists in its hudud madness.
Negarawan: Indeed, it is clear from Rompin and Permatang Pauh that the majority of Malays reject hudud.
It is urgently imperative for PKR and DAP to make a clean cut from PAS, especially in light of the by-election campaign sabotage sanctioned by Hadi Awang himself.
Mat Sabu and other right-minded PAS leaders and members should just quit PAS and join PKR.
Gunnerrun: Dear DSAI (Anwar), I hope when you learn of this news, you will be temporarily comforted by the fact your seat is still there intact, waiting for you all so loyally till the day you return home and change the country that we love so dearly for good and for all eternity.
Our hope still lies with you.
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