KUALA BESUT: If the crowd that turned up at the Besut Rakan Muda centre was an indicator, the Kuala Besut by-election campaign might be a relatively subdued affair.
Compared to other by-elections in the recent past, both Barisan Nasional and Pas supporters were not as boisterous under the intense heat after it drizzled earlier in the morning on Friday.
The estimated number of supporters present was probably just a quarter of the 20,000 police had expected on nomination day.
Barisan secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor observed that both party supporters seemed to be civil outside the nomination centre and he attributed it to the fasting month.
“I won’t say the campaign is going to slow but rather there is less aggression because it is Ramadan. It is good because there is no shouting and rubbishing one another. We shouldn’t talk bad and slam people. I hope both sides will follow this in coming elections,” he said.
The by-election is a straight fight between engineer Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman, 37, of Umno and businessman Azlan Yusof, 48, of PAS.
In the May 5 general election, Barisan won Kuala Besut with a majority of 2,343 votes against PAS. There are 17,683 voters, including 1,149 absentee voters.
The seat fell vacant following the death of Umno's Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar who passed away on June 26 and polling is on July after a 12-day campaign period.
After filing his nomination papers, Azlan said he expected a gentlemanly contest with Zaihan as both their families knew one another and everyone in Besut were friends.
“It is the month of Ramadhan and I hope there will be no personal attacks,” he said.
Election Comission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said he was pleased with the smooth nomination process.
“I urge both parties to conduct their campaigning in an ethical manner,” he told a press conference after Friday’s nominations.
Although campaigning appears to be subdued, one thing for sure is that there is a lot at stake for both Barisan and Pas in the by-election as Barisan has 16 seats and the opposition 15 in the state assembly.
A win for Pas would lead to a hung assembly that could even lead to a fresh call for state elections and Barisan wants to avoid such a scenario at all costs.
“We have our motivation and so does Barisan. We can’t take it easy even though it is Ramadan,” said Pas central committee member Khalid Samad who admitted that people would not be as aggressive or boisterous during the fasting month.
He said that the Kuala Besut by-election was a chance to keep the issue of free and fair elections alive, since it is barely two months after the general elections.
Both the Barisan and Pas candidates began actively campaigning by meeting residents and having walkabouts at the Ramadhan Bazars among other things.
In fact, their supporters had already kicked off the campaign before nomination day itself, with Zaihan visiting Pulau Perhentian and the Pas camp holding their their ceramah after announcing its candidate on Tuesday night.
Both parties will organise buka puasa events and Terawih prayers at night to attract voters to their camps. PAS has also scheduled buka puasa events at three different places every day.
Umno supporter Razali Mohd Nor is glad that the political temperature seemed to be cool at the moment, unlike the elections in May.
He said excessive politicking during Ramadan must not to be condoned. “I hope it stays like this,” he said.
Only time will tell if the gloves will come off in Kuala Besut.
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