PORT DICKSON, Oct 3 — PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang is of the view that it would be an uphill task for the party to win the Bagan Pinang by-election.
He alleged that a lack of transparency in postal voting would make things difficult for the opposition Pakatan coalition in the by-election.
“We are aware our chances are slim but were not saying it is impossible (to win),” he told reporters after the nomination process for the by-election at the Port Dickson District Council hall here today. There are 13,644 registered voters in the state constituency of whom 4,604 are postal voters.
In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional (BN) captured 3,080 of the 5,191 postal votes while PAS obtained 1,189.
The by-election, polling of which will be on Oct 11, will see a straight fight between the BN’s Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, who is also former Negeri Sembilan mentri besar, and Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, the Negeri Sembilan PAS commissioner.
For Selangor mentri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who is also the state’s PKR chief, voter support would determine the outcome of the by-election. He asked that the Election Commission be more transparent in the postal voting process as the most of the postal voters were military personnel.
Meanwhile, PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub, who is also the election director for Pakatan in Bagan Pinang, when asked about their chances said: “We admit we are the underdogs but there are indications that we do have a chance (of winning).”
Political observers hold the view that postal votes would one of the issues that the Pakatan coalition, made up of PAS-DAP-PKR, would be playing up in the run up to the election. — Bernama
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