BARISAN Nasional’s (BN) big win in the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan yesterday was attributed to leaders in three age groups who had combined their resources to dethrone Perikatan Nasional (PN), said observers.

The three were Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who represented the veterans; Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who represented current leaders in the national unity government; and Umno Youth chief Muhamad Akmal Salleh.

These three age elements played a role in influencing a voter turnout of over 72%, which is among the highest since last year’s elections in four states.

Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh, who is popularly known as Ku Li, is the long-serving Gua Musang Umno division head who was well-versed with the local dynamics.

Nenggiri is a state seat under the Gua Musang parliamentary constituency – Ku Li held that seat for more than five decades before losing it in the last general election.

Deputy Prime Minister Zahid knew how to mobilise the Umno campaign resources whereas Akmal motivated the young, who were numerous but working outside of the constituency, to return and exercise their democratic rights.

This is the second consecutive by-election where the opposition bloc in a state won with a huge margin.

Last month in the Sungai Bakap by-election in Penang, PN, through PAS, defended the seat against Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) PKR, which is part of the state government there. 

The majority in Sungai Bakap was 4,267 votes.

PN was seen as the favourite with 72 hours to go in Nenggiri before Umno’s veteran, current and youth leadership came together and wooed the largely semi-rural electorate in the Felda and Kesedar schemes.

The three Umno leaders worked together to enable their candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, who represented the unity government, to win with a convincing majority of 3,352 in a small constituency with a total of 20,259 registered voters.

85% of the voters were Malay-Muslims. There were only 36 Chinese voters there – hence when the call went out for DAP to stay away from the campaigning, it made sense.

Earlier, political scientist Datuk Prof Sivamurugan Pandian had predicted that it was a tough fight with the initial indications showing that PN was leading simply because PAS and its ally Bersatu operated a well-oiled machinery as PAS dominated the state government since 1990.

Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin campaigned actively but national PAS leaders, such as its president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, were notably absent.

Bersatu contested but it was a former PAS leader Mohd Rizwadi Ismail who stood on the party’s ticket in a straight fight against Azmawi.

There were strong undercurrents behind Azmawi because he was a perfect choice by Ku Li, who was BN’s by-elections director.

Ku Li selected Azmawi because he was known by young voters, having grown up in the area, whereas the PN’s Rizwadi, an ustaz, was only known among mosque congregations and he was away for awhile serving in the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Sivamurugan said that rising living costs and the lack of confidence among the Malay ground in the national unity government were pull factors, but the voters in Nenggiri were willing to give BN the benefit of doubt here.

According to Datuk Lukman Mohd Ghani, a former long-serving aide to Ku Li, the Kelantan prince was the X factor in helping clinch victory.

“He chose the right candidate, knew how the ground would react and bid his time to strategically attack PAS, which was leading in the initial stage.”

Ku Li is a master storyteller, weaving in how the ancestors of the current crop of settlers came into Gua Musang and acknowledging that he played a role in creating such large-scale farming schemes such as Felda and its state version of Kesedar.

But he said the settlers were just there to earn a living and to start life afresh, not to be overwhelmed by the greed of those in the state capital of Kota Baru.

Ku Li explained well how Felda exemplified the Malay spirit of bravery by cultivating new farmland despite the presence of wildlife, said political observer Loh Yoon Liau. 

Loh, who trades in Orang Asli herbal plants, said that Felda is a world-class effort.

Ku Li, in an earlier interview, conceded that BN was the underdog, but he hoped that BN will catch up in the last stages of the campaign – which the coalition did.

Zahid spent days on the campaign trail and even led a motorcycle convoy through the tough terrain where there was no cellular coverage.

Akmal used the youth wing’s network to reach out to the young, spending more time in village warongs than at coffee houses where many Bersatu leaders were seen in.

According to Loh, the Orang Asli were just fed up with the land management by the PAS-led state government.

The Orang Asli did not understand why land was cleared at their expense.

Orang Asli network heads Nor Mohd Syafiq Dendi Abdullah and Jimi Aufah claimed that the land clearing had forced elephants and tigers into their settlements, while the river was muddy due to an overflow of sediments from hilly land clearing.

“My mother did not sleep the other day when an elephant entered our house compound. Tigers were sighted in our villages. Why did this happen?” asked Syafiq.

Loh said that the by-election gave the natives a chance to register their protest.

Lukman said that the result is proof that Ku Li is still influential in Gua Musang, having served the hinterland for the past 50 years.

Ku Li was elected to parliament in 1974 for Gua Musang, which was then known as Ulu Kelantan before the constituency was broken up into Kuala Krai and Gua Musang.

Age is a factor in politics but Ku Li, at 87, showed that he is still an agile politician and can hold his own on his home turf of Nenggiri.

PAS made a tactical error by relying too much on former Umno strongman Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who is now PAS’ by-election director.

“Annuar has often faced up against Ku Li in the past and he has failed to dislodge the state royalty since the 1980. It is no different now,” said Lukman.

And just like the settlers, who sought a new beginning cultivating the rubber, cocoa and oil palm plantations here, Umno has developed a new zest with the party’s annual general assembly beginning in a few days.

It has finally won a by-election since the 2022 general election.

Ku Li said this is an important by-election and if BN wins, it marks a pushback against the PAS green wave.

“Perhaps the wave has subsided in the foothills of Nenggiri,” he said. – August 18, 2024.