All BN chips on the table with their candidate

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional’s strategy of fielding Ramli Mohd Noor, who is both an orang asli and former police Assistant Commissioner, as their candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election may pull in more votes for the coalition.

But political analysts believed it’s still going be an uphill battle for Barisan which no longer holds federal power.

Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said the challenge for the coalition is to convince voters that it will be able to deliver on its promises.

The orang asli community, which made up 22% of voters in Cameron Highlands, are being regarded as kingmakers in the by-election and Barisan is targeting to get the lion’s share of these votes.

Dr Sivamurugan said Barisan is probably minimising possible internal conflicts by fielding a candidate who is not a member of any party in the coalition.

Ramli is not from Umno but a direct Barisan member.

“Certainly all the chips are on the table for Barisan but the coalition, after losing the 14th general election (GE14), has to win and retain the seat at all costs.

On top of that, Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail is the assemblyman for Jelai, which is within the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat.

Dr Sivamurugan also said Barisan was also taking a further risk by not allowing MIC to contest the seat.

“This is certainly a gamble that they are taking, when they depart from the traditional strategy of letting MIC contest the seat,” he said.

Pakatan Harapan has named DAP’s M. Manogaran as its candidate while Tan Sri M. Kayveas has also stated his intention to contest.

Dr Sivamurugan also said it is unclear if voter fatigue would lead to lower turnout, like other by-elections post GE14, and how this would impact the outcome.

Land rights activist Tijah Tok Chopli, chairman of the Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Villages Network, said land matters will play a big factor.

Tijah, an orang asli from Pahang, said her community was now more aware of their rights as voters.

She pointed out that there are many unfulfilled promises made by Barisan in the past, when they still held the Federal Government.

“If Barisan really wants to win this by election, the Pahang state government should gazette the many native villages right now as NCR land.

“Do not promise anymore, but do it now. That way, the orang asli will vote for you,” she said.

She said in Jelai, there is also the issue of the multi-million ringgit road which was built into the orang asli villages. The road is in dire need of repair despite it being only a few years old.

The nearest clinic, which caters only to mothers and children, is also 10km away, she said.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia analyst Dr Mazlan Ali said Barisan is not confident of getting the support of Indian and Chinese voters.

Although it is supposed to be multi-racial, Barisan seems to be targeting only the orang asli and Malays, he said.

Dr Mazlan believes this strategy will fail. The Chinese majority along with Indian voters, who are disappointed that MIC is not contesting, could vote overwhelmingly for Pakatan.

Penang Institute analyst Wong Chin Huat said voters will also have the impression that Umno had taken the seat away from MIC.