Tough fights in eight Negri seats

State Pakatan leaders upbeat of a sweep, Perikatan says five are in the bag

SEREMBAN: With the campaign for the Negri Sembilan polls set to enter the halfway stage, there is a popular opinion that the toughest fights between the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional pact and Perikatan Nasional will be in eight out of 36 constituencies.

The outcome in Ampangan, Paroi, Lenggeng, Labu, Pilah, Klawang, Gemas and Bagan Pinang could go either way, said Lionel Pereira, a special officer to a three-term PKR assemblyman.

He added that the second half of the campaign will be crucial to determining the winner in these constituencies.

“My top five seats to watch are Ampangan, Paroi, Lenggeng, Klawang and Bagan Pinang.

“There are several factors at play in these constituencies where upsets can be expected,” he said.

A senior Umno official said his only concern is in Gemas, where there is a huge army vote bank.

“The popular belief is that army votes usually go to the ruling party. But based on what I hear from the ground, they can now go either way,” he said.

There are set to be three-cornered fights in Ampangan, Paroi and Lenggeng while the other five will see one-on-one contests.

The fact that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has visited the state thrice in the past seven days is testimony to the fact that the Pakatan-Barisan pact is expecting a tough challenge in these constituencies, observed former Jeram Padang assemblyman Datuk L. Manickam.

“The voting trend and demographics have changed compared to the last parliamentary election, as younger people will be voting this time around.

“These urban and semi-urban seats will see tough fights, and no one can be certain of winning till the ballot papers are counted,” said the state MIC chief, who is optimistic about the unity government pact prevailing.

In the 2018 state polls, Pakatan won 20 seats while Barisan bagged the remaining 16.

Perikatan also failed to win any of the eight federal seats here in the general election last November.“The PM may have been greeted by large crowds whenever he visited these places, but we cannot see the undercurrents.

“Many may think that Perikatan has no influence in Negri, but I believe there may be some swing – especially among the Malay voters – allowing Perikatan to make some inroads here,” said voter Mohamad Salleh Amran.

State Pakatan information chief Abd Latif Tambi admitted that the three-cornered fights may see a close contest.

“There could be a number of disgruntled voters who might vote for Perikatan in Paroi and Ampangan because the Pakatan incumbents were not fielded.

“It’s the same story in Lenggeng, where the seat that was previously won by Amanah was given to Umno, but we do not see any major problem with this,” he said, adding that although the Malay votes would be split, they would still go Pakatan-Barisan’s way.

Abd Latif said it made little sense that Bagan Pinang and Gemas, which has a large number of army voters, would vote for Perikatan.

“I believe they will be voting for the government of the day. Tok Mat (Defence Minister) has also done a great job so I believe both seats will remain with us,” he said.Abd Latif said the state Pakatan has done a commendable job over the past five years and voters remember this.

“There may be close fights in these seats but I just don’t see how we will not be able to retain them,” he said.

Local Perikatan leaders however are confident that the tide will turn in their favour in some areas.

State Perikatan secretary Nazree Yunus said the coalition should be able to wrest the Malay-majority seats from Pakatan.

“We should win comfortably in Paroi, Klawang, Ampangan, Pilah and Labu. It is going to be difficult for Umno voters to vote for Pakatan candidates and this will be to our benefit,” he said.

Nazree is also upbeat about non-Malays choosing Perikatan.

“Talk that the DAP will be able to win all 11 seats it is contesting like in the past two elections is unfounded.

“We have made some inroads into their so-called strongholds and our ultimate aim is to capture the state,” he said.

Many believe that Perikatan will be no match for the Barisan-Pakatan “trident” of Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan-Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun-Anthony Loke, who will all be defending seats.

“We have a former three-term MB who is also a serving minister, another MB who served the last term well, and a DAP secretary-general and minister at the helm in NS.

“Perikatan may have the advantage in Ampangan, Paroi and Lenggeng but that is as far as it goes,” said another observer.

He said Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, who was recently accepted back into Umno, would also help the Pakatan-Barisan pact win in Bagan Pinang. Isa’s son, Mohd Najib, is set to make his debut there.

Some believe that the absence of a big name for Perikatan contesting in the polls here is also a sign that the coalition will not go far in the state.