BARISAN Nasional (BN) failed in Kelantan and Terengganu in the general election (GE15) because Perikatan Nasional (PN) had well-funded campaign machinery, Umno leaders said.

PN is said to have spent a lot of money and was able, with the backing of the state government, to channel a variety of immediate aid to the people.

This had a great effect on fence-sitters and the youth, they said, causing BN to lose all the parliamentary seats in the two states.

Terengganu Umno information chief Nik Dir Nik Wan Ku said that although there were many reasons for BN’s poor election performance on the east coast, the main factor was money.

“We didn’t have enough funds compared to PN, which had an extraordinary allocation for the elections. When Umno was the government, we didn’t do what PN did.

“If we look at GE15, the state government speeded up various grants for the youth and the elderly.

“So the influence of state-backed instant aid played a big role and cost us seats in Terengganu,” he said. 

Apart from the money factor, Nik Dir admitted that internal bickering among Umno leadership also caused voters to reject the party as they were tired of the “endless drama”. 

“The Umno leadership’s internal dispute at the central level also affected us, causing us to be rejected by the voters and fence-sitters,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

Nik Dir denied that the problems between leaders in Kuala Lumpur caused party grassroots who were not satisfied to vote against Umno. 

He said Umno members at the grassroots still strongly support the party and that they are loyal to president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. 

He gave an example of how Umno, which has 28,000 members in Marang, was able to get more than 31,000 votes for the constituency. 

Marang was won by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang with a majority of over 41,000, an increase of almost double that of the last GE. 

“Umno just failed to get votes from youth and fence-sitters,” he said. 

BN, which won two parliamentary seats in Terengganu in the last GE, lost all eight parliamentary seats in the state in the November 19 GE. BN also lost all 14 parliamentary seats in Kelantan, which were all claimed by PAS.

PAS’s big victory overthrew some big names in the state Umno leadership, including Terengganu Umno chairman Ahmad Said, who is also former menteri besar, and Kelantan Umno chairman Ahmad Jazlan Yaakob. 

According to Nik Dir, Terengganu Umno will first look at the development of BN and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) cooperation under the administration of prime minister Anwar Ibrahim before devising a strategy to face the state elections, which need to be held before the middle of next year. 

Terengganu is among the six states that have yet to hold state elections, the others of which are PAS-led Kedah and Kelantan, as well as PH-led Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan. 

“We still haven’t had a meeting yet because we want to see the direction of the central government. Although Umno/BN is part of the government, we still don’t know the direction of our party in this new government,” he said, referring to the formation of a unity government in Putrajaya.

Nik Dir said Umno and the state BN will try to examine their defeat in the GE ahead of the Umno general assembly in Kuala Lumpur from December 21. He said the preparatory meeting for the state elections will be held in January. 

Umno Kuala Krai division deputy head Zaki Muhammad admitted that Umno and BN were unable to compete with PN’s well-funded machinery. 

However, he is confident that Umno and BN will have an advantage in the next state elections, since PN failed to form the government in Putrajaya. 

Zaki said the poor performance of Umno and BN in Kelantan was also due to low voter turnout in some areas, including Gua Musang, Jeli, Rantau Panjang, and Pasir Mas, which was around 60% to 70%.

“(The low voter turnout was) mostly in areas that are quite far (rural), but we are confident there will be no rejection from the grassroots.

“Perhaps because the candidate is not known, the candidate is less popular, but that does not reflect the overall situation,” he said.

BN-PH partnership 

Regarding the current collaboration between BN and PH, Zaki said the grassroots are more comfortable working with PH than with PN, the latter of which is led by PAS in the east coast.

“The grassroots don’t want to be with PN, but when the unity government is with PH, I get a lot of reactions saying they are happy, some calling me to hold thanksgiving prayers.

“But I said wait, because we will first see the position of Umno and BN in the cabinet,” he said.

Anwar appointed Zahid as deputy prime minister and rural and regional development minister. Four other Umno leaders were also appointed ministers, namely Mohamad Hasan (defence), Zambry Abd Kadir (foreign affairs), Azalina Othman Said (law and institutional reform), and Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz (international trade and industry). 

An Umno division leader who did not want to be named said the party will have to tread a difficult path in the next state elections because its cooperation with PH will benefit PN.

“We’ll see first what the results are in Padang Serai and Tioman. From there we can read, but right now it’s still unclear,” he said, referring to the elections that will be held on Wednesday.

The Padang Serai and Tioman electorate did not vote on November 19 over candidates’ deaths. – December 5, 2022.