PMX heads into the lion’s den

THE unveiling of Umno’s candidates for the state elections last weekend was such a slick and well-organised affair.

It was so unlike the crazy old days when candidates would be lobbying and pulling cables until the very last hour although the reason why Umno politicians are no longer fighting tooth and nail to be candidates is because they can sense the cold Malay mood.

Negri Sembilan is the only state where Umno is most confident. The party managed to secure its target of contesting 18 seats after snatching the Lenggeng seat from Amanah.

But it was an expensive trade-off because the next night, Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim declared that PKR’s Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun would be Negri Sembilan’s mentri besar in the event of victory.

Amanah unveiled its candidates on Sunday while DAP is next.

Despite doubts about the whirlwind marriage between Pakatan and Umno, they have managed to work out the seat distribution so that there would not be clashes between them.

Many analysts had expected a mini war over seats but the strange bedfellows have made it through without too many clashes.

This was in stark contrast to when Barisan Nasional and Bersatu sat as partners in Putrajaya but fought like enemies in the Johor and Melaka state elections before their final showdown in the general election.

It was a smooth start to what will be the mother of all battles for the Malay vote.

On the night that Umno was presenting its candidates, Perikatan Nasional held a mammoth rally in Kelantan, filling the Kota Baru stadium to overflowing.

It was the first big political event that saw Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the same stage.

The pair have gone from friends to foes to friends again, but their body language was still strained and PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang was seated as the buffer between them.

Dr Mahathir marked his 98th birthday earlier this month and has, as they say, sailed the seven seas and seen it all but the packed stadium that night was probably the biggest crowd he had seen in his political years.

The former premier was witnessing the people power of PAS. He must have been impressed because he praised the Kelantan government to the sky, saying that the state has seen rapid development.

It was certainly a different tune from the ones he had sung about PAS in the past.

Of course, he was thrashed on social media for that but he is now just a supporting actor in a cast dominated by PAS and Bersatu and he has little choice but to play along.

The former premier even donned a green and white shirt, leading his critics to joke that he changes colours every election and has become a “lebai” (a village preacher).

The PAS show of force is something that people on the west coast will never be able to understand, that despite its shortcomings the party is able to win one election after another in Kelantan.

“PAS likes to tell its supporters that every step towards this type of gathering is a step closer to heaven but we plan to put up a good fight in Kelantan. The green wave will not grow any greener,” said former Kok Lanas assemblyman Datuk Seri Alwi Che Ahmad.

Size matters and Perikatan is signaling that they have the numbers, their motorcycle convoys are to show that the Malay youth cohort is with them.

The question now is whether the wave will roll southward.

Anwar is not taking it lightly and he headed for Machang on Sunday (July 23) night where he gave an impassioned speech, asking Kelantanese to “save Kelantan” and take a leap of faith with Pakatan.

He pledged to bring development to the state although he must realise that development promises rarely wash on Kelantan voters.

The only time Kelantanese almost ditched PAS was when they swung in 2004 because of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whom they saw as a humble and God-fearing man.

Nevertheless, the Prime Minister deserves an A+ for the way he gave his all in a state that everyone has concluded will go to PAS.

However, the real highlight of the night was the sight of Umno division leaders bowing low to kiss the hand of Anwar, the man they had denigrated for decades.

Politics in this country keeps getting stranger and more amusing.

Pakatan has tried to downplay Dr Mahathir role’s in corralling Malay sentiments but it would be a mistake to underestimate the danger when all of one’s enemies get together.

It is quite an irony that it has fallen on Anwar’s shoulder to canvass for the Malay and Umno votes because it appears that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is unable to sway Umno.

The run-up to the last general election was noted for its passive and quiet mood.

It is a different story this time around. People talking about whether Selangor will fall or whether Penang will lose its two-thirds majority and if Umno will suffer another crushing loss.

Most of all, the Malays are talking about the man of the moment, Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.