‘3-CORNERED FIGHTS FAVOUR BN’
However, coalition party faces tough competition from Pas, says Nazri
THE three-cornered fights expected in 106 parliamentary seats in the 14th General Election (GE14) may be an advantage to BN, but the ruling coalition will have to put up with a stiff challenge from Pas.
Several members of parliament concur that BN representatives will have to work hard to ensure that the party wins, even though they do not know who will be fielded as candidates.
Rengas MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Pas was a tough opponent and that the BN election machinery could not afford to be complacent.
This, he said, was because Pas had loyal supporters.
“We must work hard and not think that Pas is not a threat just because they are going solo without the (support of ) other parties in Pakatan Harapan.
“Pas has loyal followers, who transcend generations.”
Nazri said many quarters believed that three-cornered fights favoured BN, but that did not mean the party election machinery could take it easy.
“In the Rengas parliamentary seat, 75 per cent of voters are Malays, 20 per cent are Chinese and five per cent are Indians.
“The Chinese voters are likely to favour PKR as the party does not just represent Malays.
“So, there is a problem here, as the Chinese will vote for PKR, while Umno and Pas will compete for Malay votes.”
Another factor, he said, was that despite there being 30,000 registered voters in the constituency, only about 70 per cent would cast their votes.
Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said threecornered fights would give an advantage to BN in Malay-majority seats.
“This is especially so in Terengganu. Looking at the situation now, I am confident that even in straight fights, we will win.
“If you look at what happened in Terengganu, BN lost 4-28 (to Pas) in 1999, but returned strongly to win 28-4 in 2004.”
Pas Kuala Nerus MP Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said the party was confident of winning back all its traditional power bases previously “loaned” to its friends in Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Alternatif.
He said it was a reality that Pas was the strongest among the opposition parties, right down to the grassroots.
“We have 196 divisions and election machinery in each parliamentary constituency. “In Malay-majority seats, we are confident that the people will choose a party that is strongly Islamic.
“We will leave it to the people to evaluate and decide. Pas takes a mature approach and prudently criticises all government policies. It is up to the people.” Additional reporting by Ahmad Suhael Adnan