AN increase of at least 8,000 new voters in the Permatang Pauh constituency since 2015 is good news for Umno, which it hopes may help wrest back the seat synonymous with jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim after 20 years, a local Umno leader said.

Permatang Pauh Umno division chief Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said said the odds in the coming general election could finally favour the Malay party that leads the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, and change the parliamentary seat from “kawasan hitam” (black area) to a white one.

He said the latest voter information showed that there are over 80,000 voters in the constituency now, compared to 72,000 in the 2015 by-election, when PKR retained the seat after Anwar was jailed for a second sodomy conviction. Anwar’s wife, PKR President Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, won the seat in the by-election by 8,841 votes.

“Some 7,000 of these new voters are Malays, who were mostly registered by Umno in our voter registration drive. New Chinese voters are only about 700.

“These new voters, especially the youth and first-time voters, are going to play a significant role in determining which side wins the seat,” he said at the Permatang Pauh Umno delegates meeting this morning.

“Studies done by the party’s membership and voter registration bureau had indicated the possibility of BN securing 67% of the voters,” he added.

Zaidi, who has led the division for the last four years, said feedback from the locals towards BN had been positive, based on the response at Umno’s outreach programmes and on social media.

“There are talk and comments on social media that Umno has grown stronger and has a better chance than the other Malay-based parties,” he said.

“This is the best moment to wrestle the seat back. Never has anyone said in recent years that Umno has the chance but now people are saying we do,”

Najib’s visit

The division is also upbeat over a visit by Prime Minister Najib Razak scheduled on August 17. This is widely seen as a sign that the party’s top leadership is also confident about winning the seat.

“In the past, people said he wouldn’t come because there is no chance for Umno to win in Permatang Pauh. Najib coming to Permatang Pauh is surely a sign that we have an extraordinary chance to win,” Zaidi said.

Umno is also hoping that internal problems in Pakatan and the loss of its former ally PAS would make things easier for BN and Umno in the coming polls.

“We know that PKR is in a disarray to a certain extent because of its split with PAS. Everyone in Permatang Pauh knows that PKR had depended on PAS’ strengths. Now that they are not together, it is an advantage for us,” Zaidi said.

PAS officially cut ties with PKR in May, about two years after it split with DAP over the implementation of hudud laws or the Islamic penal code. PAS’ Malay and Islamic role in Pakatan has since been taken over by splinter party Amanah, as well as Umno splinter party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

Last month, both PAS and PKR launched their respective election machineries for the Permatang Pauh seat.

With Umno in the fray, the contest for the seat will most likely see a three-corner fight, which political analysts said will likely favour BN.

Zaidi said Permatang Pauh’s PKR MP had not done much for the semi-rural constituency, while the Pakatan ceramah, which talked about the rising cost of living and the people’s suffering, was merely psychological welfare without making any concrete improvements. – August 6, 2017.