ON paper and officially, PAS members are confident of their chances in Terengganu but some privately admit that a silent protest among its ardent supporters against the Islamist party is growing.

That discontent by PAS members and anger towards inflation blamed on the goods and services tax (GST) is what Pakatan Harapan is banking on to come from behind and win parliamentary and state seats from Terengganu’s two political giants.

Mohamad, a Marang PAS activist, told Malaysia Decides there were strong rumblings among ordinary PAS members and supporters over the party’s decision to go it alone instead of being with PH and an audio recording purportedly of a PAS leader receiving Umno money.

Outwardly, PAS has blanketed Terengganu in its signature green flags and there is one PAS operation centre per kilometre. Yet Mohamad is wary of announcing outright victory for his party.

“I think many of our projections will be quite off. Our machinery is strong, our work is good. But come election day, we will see many surprises,” he said.

This internal revolt had also been detected by Terengganu PH chairman Raja Kamarul Bahrain Shah, who claimed to have been approached by many PAS members, who pledged they would vote PH.

These PAS members do not make their sympathies public for fear of being ostracised by their friends, neighbours and even other family members, Raja Kamarul said.

Other PH leaders said this silent wave could expand the coalition’s foothold beyond the solitary parliamentary and state seat it currently holds.

PH holds Kuala Terengganu after its MP Raja Kamarul joined Amanah, while the Bandar state seat is represented by PKR’s Dr Azan Ismail. Terengganu has 32 state and eight parliamentary seats.

BN holds four parliamentary seats while PAS has three. BN holds 17 out 32 state seats, while PAS has 14.

One the seats PH hopes to gain is Dungun, one of Terengganu’s three biggest towns.

“PAS did not win Dungun on the strength of its members alone. It had a lot of support from non-Malay voters and fence-sitters,” said Abdul Rahman Yusof, PH’s candidate for Dungun who is also a veteran Terengganu PH leader.

Dungun was won by PAS’ Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli by 3,942 votes in 2013. But the seat had been won by BN in the 2008 and 2004 general elections. The state seat of Sura in Dungun’s town centre was won by PAS by 2,957 votes.

This time both the parliamentary and state seats face multi-cornered fights between PH, PAS and BN. Rahman and other PH candidates are attempting to buck the trend where BN always wins in such scenarios.

“In a three-cornered fight, where all the contestants are strong, all you need to win is to get more than 33% of all the votes,” said PH candidate for Sura, Zulkifli Ali.

“Non-partisan voters make up about 25% of voters in Sura. So we need to get most of these and swing between 5% and 10% of BN and PAS’ voters to us. That will give us more than 35%,” said Zulkifli, 59, a pensioner.

PH candidate for Dungun, Abdul Rahman Yusof, said this can happen given the widespread frustration towards BN over the high cost of living.

“In Dungun, we estimate that 38% of voters are anti-establishment. They helped PAS win in the last general election but that was when PAS was part of a bigger coalition that wanted to form the government.

“We believe they will come to us as we are the better alternative that stands a chance of forming the next government.” – May 4, 2018.