I have to just quote the losing candidate, bugged by integrity and honesty-questions from Day 1 of the BN campaign, as reported by The Malaysian Insider:
"Rohaizat, on the other hand, hinted that his defeat was caused by “the failure of the Chinese community here to fulfill its vows of support” which is an indirect admission that the race card has not worked its magic for Umno and BN.
The BN-UMNO had obviously not learnt anything from the March 8, 2008 General Elections that all the major ethnic groups in the country have awakened from UMNO's racist politics; the just concluded PPasir by-election giving the pAS a 4,551-vote majority is testament that the momentum for Change as manisted in the 12th GE has not waned. Cometh GE 13 in thre to four years' time, Desi believes there will be a change in Federal Government PROVIDED THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS ARE HELD.
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UPDATEd @8.42PM from an MI/ST report, thanks2:):)
The Malaysian Insider LINK:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/36129-race-card-proves-dicey-in-permatang-pasir
Race card proves dicey in Permatang Pasir
PAS supporters carry a jubilant Salleh after the official result of the by-election was announced. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — As the dust settles on Malaysia's eighth by-election — predictably won by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat — it has become apparent that the current trend has prevailed again.
The Permatang Pasir by-election in Penang was won decisively on Tuesday by PAS, making it a clean sweep of seven by-election wins in Peninsular Malaysia for the opposition alliance since last year's general election. A by-election in Sarawak was won by Barisan Nasional.
PAS candidate Mohd Salleh Man, 52, defeated Umno's Rohaizat Othman, 38, in Permatang Pasir, where the seat fell vacant after the incumbent, a PAS assemblyman, died of a heart attack last month.
An analysis of the voting results indicated again that race or religious rhetoric is a dicey strategy for electoral success.
Analyst Ibrahim Suffian, whose Merdeka Centre does independent polling, said studies have shown that such rhetoric may swing a small percentage of Malay voters, but alienate a far larger number of non-Malay voters.
“It does not help to win substantial Malay votes, but it repels others,” he said.
The Permatang Pasir by-election reflected this. Of the 20,000 voters, 72 per cent are Malays, 26 per cent Chinese, almost 2 per cent Indians, and the rest are classified as others.
The PAS candidate took 65 per cent of the total votes, just slightly lower than the 66 per cent in last year's general election.
A look at the racial breakdown showed that PAS' share of Malay votes fell by 3 percentage points, but its Chinese support rose by 6 percentage points.
Political analyst Ong Kian Ming said PAS's Malay support fell from 65 to 62 per cent, but its share of Chinese votes went up from 71 to 77 per cent.
Analysts agree that the ratcheting up of Malay rhetoric had sent the Chinese votes fleeing from Umno. In recent weeks, the Umno-linked Utusan Malaysia newspaper had repeatedly called on the Malays to rise up as they were losing political power.
The death in custody of opposition aide Teoh Beng Hock also stirred anger.
Ibrahim said some of Umno's rallies during the Permatang Pasir by-election were strong on race rhetoric. He noted that as a result, Umno had won some of the older Malay voters.
But significantly, the Chinese had disregarded recent PAS-led measures to enforce Islamic laws more strictly in Selangor. Clearly, the Chinese see PAS as a more moderate party than Umno.
“Umno has cemented its position in public perception as the more extreme,” said Ong.
Going by the eight by-elections, analysts believe that parties which occupy the middle ground in public perception have the best chance of winning seats.
This is because the Malay swing vote tends to be very limited. Ibrahim said the Malay core vote base for PAS and Umno is fairly entrenched.
It's unclear which direction PAS will take now. The party is split between those who want to stick to a multiracial platform, and those who want a stronger Islamic agenda. This struggle has yet to be resolved. Some within PAS will see the Permatang Pasir win as “a vote for a moderate stance, but some may interpret it as an approval for an Islamic agenda”, said Ibrahim. — The Straits Times
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