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News
Analysis: Underestimating Pas was the BN's undoing in
Terengganu
By Rosli Zakaria THE question everyone was asking in the Barisan Nasional camp in Terengganu after unofficial results of the general election were known by midnight was: What happened? All State seats considered "white" for the BN were lost to Pas. The early assessment was that BN would retain all State constituencies in Kemaman and Besut, three in Setiu, Hulu Terengganu and Kuala Nerus and two each in Marang, Dungun and Kuala Terengganu - giving it one seat extra for the two-thirds majority. But the reverse occurred when Pas white-washed BN in all the 32 State seats except for Seberang Takir, Telemong, Ajil and Kemasik. Pas also won all the eight parliamentary seats. Pas deputy president Abdul Hadi Awang said the people had spoken and they had made a choice which reflected their desire for a change in the State administration. The outcome of the general election baffled State BN chief Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar Ahmad and party supporters who camped at the former Menteri Besar's residence at Jalan Taha 1 in Cukai. Conceding defeat, Wan Mokhtar said the people have made their choice and a post-mortem would be made after all the BN party workers recovered from their shock defeat in a day or two. "We felt like being bewitched when the results were known," said Wan Mokhtar who has been the Menteri Besar for 25 years. Bewitched or otherwise, it was observed that the BN was over-confident about not only getting the two-thirds majority but also increasing the number of State seats without giving serious attention on the underlying issue. Unlike the 1995 general election, there was a general calmness in the Umno camp when the candidates were announced a day before nomination. This reflected an air of confidence that the right choices had been made. And unlike the 1995 general election when party workers were eager to put up posters and banners at strategic places, this time it took most constituencies two days to get their machinery moving. Some party workers admitted that a big problem was logistics as flags and banners were not supplied by the headquarters. Putting up flags and banners provide a side-income to party workers and the lack of "work" shifted their allegiance to Pas. However, Pas made a good first impression with its posters and flags which occupied strategic places. They were actually more than ready with logistics compared to BN. "Some may say that posters, flags and banners do not really reflect the party's strength. "But the sheer number of these items do reflect the co-ordination and commitment of the party," said an observer. The BN had also overlooked the influence of Pas ceramah held every other day over the past two years and they have been consistent on the topics, including the formation of an Islamic State, Hudud (Islamic laws), the issue of former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, corruption and allegations of malpractices of the State Government. Where ceramah is almost the only form of "entertainment" for the people of Terengganu, the frequency and consistency of the issues debated had formed a strong public opinion. Pas was given the freedom to say what they liked about the Goverment and the large crowd listened. However, the BN could not counter the issues effectively because it was not aggressive enough or depended on official functions to deliver its message or to correct the people's perspective on the issues. On Anwar, it seemed that Parti Keadilan Nasional, an opposition front coalition member, gained the support of sympathisers from among Umno members. "This is one of the major underlying factors for the silent protest against Umno, and not the candidates, among the younger voters, especially," said a former State Assemblyman who declined to be named. It was observed that the BN's booths set up to check voters registration were crowded on polling day, giving party workers a false sense of confidence that they would win the election. It was a strategy used effectively by Pas in the Pulai Chondong by-election in Kelantan in 1997 when its candidate Zulkifli Mamat, who was tipped to lose, won by a slim 118-vote majority against BN's Yusof Hamzah. There was also some discontentment among the Umno members on the choice of Wan Mokhtar and other senior State Assemblymen who were still contesting after more than three terms. Wan Mokhtar named 17 new candidates and retained 15 incumbents but it was not enough to satisfy certain impatient Umno members. The Pas slogan "Umno di luar, Pas di dalam" (Umno on the outside, Pas on the inside) was slowly becoming a reality. These impatient Umno members were like soldiers in a Trojan horse waiting to make the kill. Pas named 27 new candidates. The general election results showed the people voted for the party and not the candidates. Looking at the results, the defeats of Umno Information chief Datuk Dr Yusof Noor (who is also deputy State Umno chief), State Umno liaison secretary and Deputy Agriculture Minister Datuk Tengku Mahmud Mansor and the Deputy Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Idris Jusoh, who was tipped to be the next Menteri Besar, and Deputy Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Abu Bakar Daud, were totally unexpected. They were seasoned campaigners and command strong support and respect in their respective parliamentary constituencies, but fell to unknown Pas candidates, who can now be considered giant killers. |
