Chempaka by-election: No sabotage by Umno, despite attacks
KOTA BAHARU: Despite being hurled with various accusations by the opposition parties, Umno remains professional and did not sabotage the PAS candidate in the by-election for the Chempaka state seat which ended yesterday.
PAS leaders, during their campaign in the by- election, attacked Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government by making various accusations, including of Kelantan being sidelined in terms of development allocation.
The BN opted out of the byelection, choosing to focus instead on the massive rehabilitation work after Kelantan was hit by extraordinary floods in December last year.
As expected, PAS fielded a young face, Ahmad Fathan Mahmood@ Mahamad, 42, who won big, with a majority of 10,092 votes, compared with the 6,500 majority votes obtained by the late Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, when he won the seat in the last 13th general election.
Political observers see Umno’s action in not sabotaging the PAS candidate as something that should be praised, and also the call by Kelantan Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed for Umno members who are voters in the constituency to exercise their right and vote for a new elected representative.
Political analyst Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said he did a study on the Chempaka by- election and found that during the 12- day campaign, PAS continued to hurl attacks at Umno even though the party did not contest.
“Umno leaders and members in the constituency or at the division and state levels should be praised for not sabotaging PAS.
“Infact, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed himself told Umno members ( who are voters in the constituency) that they can vote for any candidate, including the PAS candidate,” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.
He said even the Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar, Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah, thanked Umno members who gave their votes to the PAS candidate.
Kamarul Zaman, who is deputy director of the Research Institute for Malaysian Political Analysis ( Mapan), Universiti Utara Malaysia ( UUM), also attributed PAS’ victory in yesterday’s Chempaka by- election to the recent tabling and passing of the Hudud law by the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly.
PAS retained the Chempaka state seat in yesterday’s by- election, a five- cornered contest among Ahmad Fathan, who is the Ulama Affairs chief in the constituency, and four independent candidates. Ahmad Fathan obtained 10,899 votes.
Of the independents, former Kelantan Perkasa vice-president Sharif Mahmood polled 807 votes; Pertubuhan Keturunan Paduka Raja Cik Siti Wan Kembang president Fadzillah Hussin ( 89 votes); former lecturer Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary ( 51 votes); and businessman Aslah Mamat (27 votes). — Bernama