Nenggiri win for Umno a real ‘shocker’

‘There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.’ – Colin Powell, American general

I did not pay much attention to the Nenggiri by-election, to be honest. Like many, I had expected it to be a walk-over for PAS.

Why? This is Kelantan, a conservative Malay-Muslim state, ruled by the Islamist party since 1990 – for the past 34 years. PAS also won the state with a resounding victory in the last election.

Nenggiri will be one big yawn surely, or so I thought. But I was so wrong this time.

What a shocker it was when the results were announced last Saturday night. Barisan Nasional/UMNO successfully reclaimed Nenggiri, securing a thumping majority of 3,352 votes in a by-election to overturn the coalition’s loss by 810 votes last year to Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Even up to 5 pm on Saturday, two to three hours before the official results were announced, it has slipped my mind that the by-election polling was on that day.

That was until a friend from Sarawak called me to check whether it was true that BN/UMNO has won Nenggiri. As I didn’t pay much attention to the by-election, I responded to my friend’s poser with what I had always thought of elections in Kelantan, “Impossible for BN to win; this is a PAS stronghold”.

I then suggested that we wait for another two or three hours for the official results. Apparently, my friend knew better; he must have heard about UMNO’s victory from his sources in the party.

Let’s just mention in passing that my friend, a Sarawak datuk and a former MP, has his contacts in almost every political party in the country. Still, he thought that it was worthwhile to check with me since I was attached to the media.

This episode is proof that not all media personnel have first-hand information on topics of the day. My friend certainly has more reliable sources than me; he beats me on this one.

So how did BN/UMNO deliver this shocking blow to PAS in Nenggiri? By now, many have given their views on this much-needed morale-boost for the wounded UMNO.

I agree with some of their opinions but I do have my own as well.

For starters, I think UMNO has chosen the right candidate, a young Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani who has been working in this rural constituency in Kelantan for many years and is known among the electorates.

By fielding a younger candidate showcasing generational renewal, UMNO was able to make significant inroads among younger voters.

Also, UMNO did right to appoint its veteran and former Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the party’s election director. Nenggiri is a state seat in Gua Musang. The combination of two well-known faces, old and young, in the area managed to pull in the votes, fence-sitters in particular.

On the other side, PAS candidate Rizwadi Ismail was said to be “popular only with the congregations at the mosques”, according to a PN insider.

Another liability in the PN campaign was Datuk Annuar Musa, the PN election director for Nenggiri, according to Hisyamuddin Ghazali, an activist linked to Pakatan Harapan.

He said Annuar not only came off as arrogant, but one who liked to show-off his wealth which saw him rejected by the voters.

“The decision to recycle leaders like Annuar did not have any significant impact,” he said in a Facebook post.

I agree as it is impossible to sell former political bigwigs with tainted past. Such politicians with chequered history should no longer be given any prominent role in elections.

The fact that PAS rejected two proposed candidates from Bersatu earlier also did not go down well with Bersatu supporters in the constituency.

The choice of candidates matters as Nenggiri has clearly illustrated, especially so in rural areas where a known, popular face tends to have the edge over others.

I am also glad that BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has exercised humility by describing the Nenggiri victory as more than just about regaining the people’s trust, stressing that the mandate BN received is part of its ongoing efforts to win the public back into its fold.

“It is also a responsibility which we will carry out as best as we can,” he said in a Facebook post.

In a way, I’m happy for Zahid, who is also the UMNO president, as at long last, he has something to smile about.

BN had performed dismally in the 2022 general election winning only 30 seats in 2022, compared to 79 in 2018. At six state elections last year, UMNO contested 108 seats but won just 19.

With UMNO’s victory, the federal governing coalition now has three members on the opposition bench in the Kelantan state assembly. The other two are Galas assemblyman Syahbuddin Hashim of BN and Kota Lama assemblyman Dr Hafidzah Mustakim of Pakatan Harapan.

PAS (37 seats) and Bersatu (5) have an overwhelming majority in the 45-member assembly.

The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.