THE 15,086-vote majority that MCA’s Wee Jeck Seng pulled off in the Tg Piai by-election surpassed even his personal best record in the 2008 general election.

It led to Wee’s compatriots in the opposition Barisan Nasional and MCA to declare that Chinese voters, who abandoned the coalition in droves over the past 10 years, are finally returning.

But Tg Piai’s own Chinese residents challenge this conclusion and told The Malaysian Insight that the recent by-election was more a loss for Pakatan Harapan rather than a win for BN and MCA.

“BN’s extraordinary victory in Tg Piai was not because people supported them but because people were angry with Pakatan for not fulfilling their election promises,” said Seng, a Tg Piai voter.

Like many others The Malaysian Insight spoke to, he chalked up the ruling coalition’s defeat to a combination of issues – failure to bring down the cost of living, boost the economy and resolve education issues.

Other voters also pointed to mistakes PH made, such as fielding Karmaine Sardini, who lost in the 14th general election in the Pontian parliamentary seat.

Another gaffe was Karmaine’s plea to palm oil smallholders, who make up a significant chunk in the local economy, to be “grateful” for the commodity’s price, which had plunged in recent years.

In the November 16 by-election, Wee polled 25,466 votes against Karmaine’s 10,380.

In GE14, Wee lost the seat which he had represented since 2008 by 524 votes. In the 2013 elections, (Wee won by 5,547 votes while in 2008 (GE12), he won by 12,371 votes.

Analysis by pollster Ilham Centre found that support among Chinese voters – PH’s core supporters –plunged by 40% as compared with GE14.
Chinese voters make up 42% of the electorate, while Malays comprise 51%.

Candidates first

Seng, who manages a convenience store in Kukup, said that by his own calculations, BN’s Wee had managed to increase his votes by about 5,000 as compared with GE14.

In the by-election Wee polled 25,466, while in GE13, he garnered 20,731 votes.

“Of the extra 5,000 votes, I believe that Wee got 3,000 votes from PAS members while the 2,000 was the bonus. These results cannot be bellwether for the next general election.”

PAS, which managed to poll 2,962 votes in GE14 in Tanjung Piai, pledged to rally its members to support BN.

“Whereas Pakatan only received about 10,000 votes compared to the 21,000 it received in GE14. So from my reading, Pakatan supporters either did not return or did go out to vote.”

MCA was also able to capitalise on national education issues, such as PH’s decision to hold back funds for Tunku Abdul Rahman Universiti College (TAR UC) and the decision to introduce khat for primary four pupils in vernacular schools.

MCA’s programmes during the by-election campaign attracted extraordinary numbers of Chinese residents compared with PH’s, said another voter who declined to be named.

Wee’s long service record and popularity was another factor for BN’s win, said another voter, who wanted to be known as Lee.

“In GE14, we did not want to reject Wee, we just wanted to teach ‘tauke’ Wee a lesson. That is why he only lost by 500 votes,” said Lee in Pekan Nenas.

“But now Pakatan parties seem to be more interested fighting with each other, that’s why people are upset. They should instead focus on taking care of the country and repairing the economy.”

Lee believes that after GE14, voters are no longer loyal to political parties but choose candidates based on their ability and effectiveness.

“Voters nowadays are not like in the past. In the past, people religiously believed in their political parties. It’s not like that any more. Whoever can work will be given a chance.”

This change in attitude is also why some Chinese voters are no longer afraid of PAS, whose hard-line religious conservatism has seen it clash with MCA in the past.

“Now, Chinese voters are supporting muafakat nasional,” said a local Chinese community leader, referring to the political pact between MCA’s partner Umno, and PAS.

And despite Karmaine’s stature as an imam and a local boy, the 66-year-old could not garner enough goodwill to win over Malays, said voter Md Amin Hussin.

“At the start of his campaign, the Pakatan candidate goes and tells people that they should be grateful for the fact that palm oil prices are RM250 per tonne. Of course, kampung folk would be mad at him.” – December 11, 2019.