THE first by-election to be held after the general election concluded with the victory of the incumbent party, PKR, which retained the Sungai Kandis seat with a lower margin amid a lower voter turnout, and strangely, a higher percentage of the total vote.

Many will be quick to point that it was due to the less crowded field – only two political parties contesting instead of four, with PAS and PRM opting out.

But a closer look at the numbers tells a few stories.

The much lower voter turnout, despite it being a weekend (as opposed to the general election’s Wednesday) and national focus on the campaign of both sides, potentially indicates political lethargy on the part of voters. The late assemblyman, who was well-respected and popular, had barely been sworn in before an by-election had to be called. To add to the overdose of politics, two other deaths have occurred after the first, with two more by-elections slated to be held within the next couple of months.

Two of these deaths were due to illnesses that had occured before the elections. It was not the first time Pakatan Harapan had fielded candidates who were less than well. While this would have been understandable in the 1990s when the then opposition parties had lacked able and winnable candidates, it certainly is not in what is now a two-party system.

The second interesting point would be the lack of people advocating the “third alternative”. In the past GE, there were quite a few parties that joined the fray, each advocating what it believed was an alternative to BN and PH.

Other than PSM, these parties did not seem to have a clear vision of what they want to achieve other than get a seat or two  parties like PRM, PCM and fringe members of Ikatan. Interestingly, though there has been one by-election and two more are to follow, these parties have not indicated any interest in contesting and have all but disappeared from the public eye.

Have all the sins of BN and problems with PH magically vanished in three months, or does this passion for justice happen only once every five years?

Campaigns like Undi Rosak and Boikot have also not said much since.

Bersih saw itself recognised as an official observer, a welcome development and one that should continue for all NGOs. SPRM is showing some signs of reform, and that is promising.

Thirdly, the vote itself. The results would indicate 5% of the vote that went to PAS, diverted to PH this time around. That suggests that while the total vote percentage for Umno went up, some PAS supporters did not agree with their leadership’s clarion call for members and supporters to throw their support behind Umno.

Umno and PAS’ friendly overtures are sad but not entirely unexpected, and Umno’s near-complete wipeout from the administration only sealed the “friendship”.

While fellow Pakatan components may have disagreed with PAS, they have always welcomed them into the administration. In Selangor, where PAS was a member of the ruling coalition, that respect was honoured till the last day of the administration, where they held important positions in the exco, GLCs and state agencies, as well as local council portfolios.

Meanwhile, Umno assigned fringe positions for PAS leaders, like the chair of GMM, while repeatedly toying with the tabling of first hudud, then RUU 355, in Parliament as an issue. PAS would do itself and its supporters well to stand alone as an independent, capable and intellectually honest check-and-balance, as opposed to a willing party to a nationalistic super bloc.

Race and religious based politics should be handled with care. There is nothing wrong with championing a cause in a democracy, but playing up sensitive topics for the sake of winning votes is dangerous and mutually self-destructive. There will be nothing left to defend if we destroy each other first. – August 8, 2018.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.