No Blank Cheque For Tanjung Piai

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WELL, I guess UMNO will have to find new dates for its General Assembly. The Election Commission has chosen November 16 as polling day for Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election. As to whether it's a coincidence or deliberate move by the government, should not become an issue.

The big thing here is to wrest the seat from Pakatan Harapan. That's Barisan Nasional's priority now. With the inclusion of PAS into the Opposition pact with its 'Penyatuan Ummah' and 'Muafakat Nasional' with UMNO, Tanjung Piai will be the acid test.

The EC has fixed Nov 2 for the nomination day, and the Opposition has many matters to settle. With the equilibrium on the choice of candidate is yet to be decided, some unpleasant scenarios which took place recently must be looked into.

The threat by Kapar MCA and Johor PAS should their candidate is not chosen, may come as minor but the deepest impact is on Muafakat Nasional ideology which is still finding its footing among multiracial and multi-religion Malaysians.

In my personal opinion, 'Muafakat Nasional' is not a blank cheque for BN to win Tanjung Piai.

According to PAS former sec-gen Mustafa Ali, the upcoming Tanjung Piai by-election will prove to be the yardstick to measure the political cooperation between Umno and Pas following signing of the 'Muafakat Nasional' or National Consensus Charter. It will also prove to be a test for MCA’s political strength.
As such, some are of the opine that the Parliamentary seat should be left to a MCA to show that the National Consensus is not limited to only the Malays but also involves other races. If MCA wins, it would also boost MCA’s morale and this in turn would pose a threat to the DAP.Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (PUTRA) is on its maiden flight and has announced it is prepared to contest the seat. Its their right but again, 'Penyatuan Ummah' would be perceived as defeating its purpose as another Malay splinter group is established.Maybe... I would like to say that the presence of PUTRA in Tanjung Piai would not outweigh Pakatan and BN candidates but it undoubtedly could affect the votes and positions of the respective pact and coalition. Of course the major portion of PUTRA’s support would come from the Malays and this in turn would affect the Malay votes to the two parties.In the 14th General Election, Wee Jeck Seng of MCA/BN lost the seat by a slim margin of 524 votes. The late Dr Farid Rafik garnered 21,255 votes compared to Wee who secured 20,731 votes. Tanjung Piai seat has been traditionally held by the MCA since its creation in 2003, following a parliamentary constituency re-delineation exercise.Apart from Wee, a former deputy minister under the BN who won the seat for two consecutive terms in 2008 and 2013, former MCA president Ong Ka Ting had also held the seat for a single term when he was elected in 2004.In GE14, the total number of registered voters in the Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency was 53,528. Out of that figure, Malays comprised 56.8 per cent, Chinese 41.64 per cent, Indians 1.01 per cent and others 0.55 per cent.So, the Malays and Chinese will be the major attraction during the 2-week campaigning between Nov 2nd and Nov 12. As the Indians only represent 1.01 per cent of the total votes, they too play the deciding factor should the contesting parties chalk a nose-win victory.BN and PAS will have to plan for a new strategy. PH is now their political nemesis. After victories in Cameron Highlands, Semenyih and Rantau, Tanjung Piai is somehow a different ball game after Muafakat Nasional came into effect.

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