KUALA KRAI: Religious, Malay and local issues are set to dominate the Manek Urai by-election, the seventh for the country since the 12th general election 16 months ago.

Located at about the half-way point of Kelantan, Manek Urai will see political giants Umno and PAS battle it out for the votes of the Malays who form 99.2% of the constituency’s electoral roll.

Manek Urai is a PAS stronghold, and in the upcoming contest the party is pitting 50-year-old fish wholesaler Mohd Fauzi Abdullah against Umno/Barisan Nasional’s (BN) former Kesedar manager Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat.

Both PAS and Umno started their unofficial canvassing for votes about a month ago but the campaign is set to intensify after today’s nomination. For PAS, Manek Urai is a must-retain seat.

PAS Kelantan comes into the by-election while recovering from the party’s recent crisis which saw Mursyidul Am (spiritual leader) Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat berating deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa for
welcoming talks with Umno. Now the party must regain composure and present a united front as it faces the voters in eight days of campaigning.

But already tongues are wagging. Posters and banners on Manek Urai’s main road are dominated by pictures of Nik Aziz. Conspicuously missing are posters with picture of party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

PAS Manek Urai by-election operations director Abdul Fatah Harun, who is also the Bukit Tuku assemblyman, however said posters with the president’s pictures had been distributed and could be seen in the various parts of the constituency.

“The posters with president’s pictures are in the voting areas and it is for the voters to see,” he said, adding that the posters and banners were being put up in various stages.

The war of words between Umno and Nik Aziz may have been a wrong move from Umno.

A local Umno supporter said Nik Aziz is much respected by Kelantanese from both sides of the fence, so making a police report against him and attacking him personally may not be the best thing to do.

“Look at Tok Pa (referring to Datuk Mustapa Mohamed who is leading the campaign for BN), he never criticises Nik Aziz. He takes on PAS on issues and not personality,” said the supporter.

Although the issue of the candidates’ educational background has been commented by both parties — Tuan Aziz is a technology management graduate from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia while Mohd Fauzi did not make it that far — educational background is not essential here.

“What people want is an assemblyman who can do the work and is here for the people just like the late Ismail Yaakob. He may be from PAS but he takes care of the people here,” he added.

With its constituents made up mostly of rubber tappers, national issues would not be of paramount importance. The voters are more concerned with bread-and-butter issues, such as the price of rubber. In the same vein, the current spat between DAP and PAS in Kedah is not as important as the water shortage that some villages are facing.

Local issues aside, PAS is set to set the campaign trail ablaze with the Kelantan oil royalty issue that surfaced about three weeks ago. Saifuddin Nasution, the MP for Machang, and Datuk Husam Musa, Kelantan’s economic, finance and welfare committee chairman had brought up the issue in parliament and the state assembly.

Kelantan was found listed as a petroleum-producing state in the Statistics Department’s State/District Data Bank, prompting Menteri Besar Nik Aziz to write to the federal government asking for RM1 billion in oil royalty.
The area which is producing oil and gas is about 150km off Kelantan shores and is a joint development area with Thailand as there are disputes as to the ownership of the area. To date, the federal government has yet to reply on the matter but can be expected to do so at this by-election.  

While Umno is seen as an underdog in this race, the party was said to have made a good start by fielding Tuan Aziz who is well-liked and known amongst the locals. “There were three names that were considered. If Umno had chosen someone else, then there is little chance. But with Tuan Aziz, there is a very good chance that we might win,” another Umno supporter said.

A win by Umno in PAS’ stronghold would be a big boost to the party in its quest to wrest Kelantan from PAS in the next general election. PAS on the other hand must at least retain its majority of 1,352 votes, if not improve on it.

A win for PAS would be a nod for Nik Aziz’s leadership and influence, which some claimed has waned, and also for other state PAS leaders who lost much support at the last party elections.

While both sides have expressed optimism, the victor in the race will likely be the person whom the voters think they can count on the most in times of need, just like they did on Ismail Yaakob.