Ferocious fight between PH and BN expected
SHAH ALAM: A fierce battle is on the cards between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional for the Sungai Kandis state assembly seat, judging from the huge turnout of supporters from both sides at the nomination centre in Section 19 here yesterday.
The flag-carrying supporters had a face-off outside the premises, with some good-natured banter thrown in, as they rooted for the candidates – social activist Datuk Lokman Noor Adam from Barisan and tahfiz head Zawawi Ahmad Mughni from PKR.
There was a moment, just before the nomination papers were filed, when Barisan supporters ventured beyond their allowed perimeter, which immediately saw the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) coming in to force them back into their designated area.
The Barisan supporters refused to budge and barricades were placed to prevent them from getting nearer to the Pakatan supporters.
Shouts of Hidup BN and Reformasi rang out as both sides tried to outdo each other.
The by-election is crucial for Barisan to reinforce its position as well as to gauge public response.
As for Pakatan, what mattered most was to increase the majority garnered by the late Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei, who won the Sungai Kandis seat with a majority of 12,480 votes in the May 9 general election.
Mat Shuhaimi had won 23,998 votes while Barisan candidate Kamaruzzaman Johari, PAS candidate Mohd Yusof and Parti Rakyat Malaysia candidate Hanafiah Husin received 11,518, 7,573 and 76 votes respectively.
This time around, PAS did not contest to give way to Barisan for a straight battle with Pakatan.
However, according to Selangor Umno deputy chief Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan, PAS would probably not be campaigning for Barisan.
“We did have a discussion with them but we will be doing our own thing here,” he said.
Both sides have their sights focused on the 7,573 votes won by the PAS candidate in GE14.
If Barisan manages to get some of PAS’ votes, it stands a chance to redeem lost ground.
If Pakatan wins these votes, it would mean that its strategy of fielding Zawawi is the right move. (Zawawi’s father Ahmad Mughni Abd Rahman was the imam and
khatib of Masjid An-Naim in Jalan Kebun here.)
“I hope PAS supporters will see this as an opportunity to strengthen the moderate Muslim position in the country, especially in Selangor which has a multiracial society,” said PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
Meanwhile, Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Tan Sri Othman Mahmood said about 80% of the electorate are expected to come out to vote.
The EC has also established an enforcement team to monitor campaigning activities during the twoweek campaign before polling day on Aug 4.
A total of 69 observers were appointed to monitor the election process, including members of Suhakam, Bersih 2.0 and non-governmental organisations, as well as academics.
Othman expects the election results to be announced at 10pm on Aug 4.