Tight Race Foreseen In Ayer Kuning As Bn Pn Bank On Religious Candidates

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BN has named 54-year-old ustaz Yusri Bakir (left), the Tapah Umno secretary, as its candidate for the by-election while PN will field its Tapah chief Abdul Muhaimin Malek, who studied in Syria.
PETALING JAYA: An analyst expects the Ayer Kuning by-election to be closely fought with both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) fielding candidates with religious backgrounds in a seat where Malay voters make up nearly 60% of the electorate.
Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan said Pakatan Harapan (PH) must work hard to ensure that its core supporters – the non-Malay community – back the Umno candidate to ensure victory at the polls on April 26.
He said PN’s decision to field its Tapah chief Abdul Muhaimin Malek, the headmaster of a tahfiz school in Ayer Kuning, showed that the coalition was not hoping to win over the 40% of Chinese and Indian voters.
“PAS and PN know that the non-Malay votes will not go to them, so their focus is on the majority that make up the electorate.
“That’s why they’re fielding a candidate with a religious image. It suits the conservative beliefs and sentiments held by Malay voters in rural areas,” Azmi told FMT.
BN has announced 54-year-old ustaz Yusri Bakir, the Tapah Umno secretary, as its candidate for the by-election, while PN will field Muhaimin, who studied in Syria.
An Umno Youth leader had said that Yusri’s candidacy could pay off, particularly among Malay-Muslim voters, in light of their dissatisfaction with the unity government.
This would be particularly crucial, with non-Malay voter turnout often significantly lower in by-elections.
Azmi expected BN to leave it to PH to deliver the non-Malay votes, in hopes of building on the 2,213-vote majority that the late Ishsam Shahruddin gained during the 2022 general election.
“Whoever Umno fields, it will be depending on PH to convince its (non-Malay) supporters (to vote for Umno). So the responsibility indirectly falls on DAP and PKR to ensure that these voters go out and vote for the Umno candidate,” he said.
Lau Zhe Wei of International Islamic University Malaysia meanwhile expected BN and PN’s choice of candidates to alleviate religious sentiments on the campaign trail for the by-election.
Since both men had backgrounds in religious education, he said campaigning would not revolve around “who is more Islamic”.
“If Umno fielded a more liberal candidate, PAS would definitely use that in its campaign,” he added. - FMT

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