SEMENYIH, Feb 19 — PAS and Umno are working hand in glove to target Malay voters for the by-election here, leaving no stone unturned to ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) wins big on March 2.

The election directors of both parties meet each day to cover any eventualities or missed areas, making daily adjustments to the contest that is different from the recently-concluded Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election in Pahang.

Semenyih area allows for fast and frequent campaigning, unlike the rough terrain and distance in Cameron Highlands that made this difficult.

For PAS and Umno, this battle is different because the Pakatan Harapan candidate is Malay-Muslim and the target voters are also Malay-Muslims. The two parties can no longer campaign solely on race and religion.

They have to use a different approach and inevitably touch on the ruling Pakatan Harapan government, its weaknesses and, more importantly, the underlying and unseen factor – DAP domination.

The unfulfilled promises in the PH manifesto are the main factors as bread-and-butter issues were the basis of the Pakatan manifesto.

And right now they have a new issue: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claims that the Islamist party has pledged not to support Umno in this by-election.

The issue has yet to take centre stage as speakers from both sides have yet to really delve into it, and the media has been frenzied over another matter: the purported plan to move a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Dr Mahathir.

The timing cannot be worse than in the middle of a by-election contested by Dr Mahathir’s party – the first by-election for the party that just left infancy and is learning to walk.

The media and social media are focussing so much on this that it clouded the real issues in the by-election here.

For the voters, it is their daily issues that are more important than political conspiracies.

Campaigners of both sides who are on the ground know this. They do not seem sidetracked by political rumours. They are busy working to win the hearts and minds of the target – the near 70 per cent Malay voters.

As of last night, BN candidate Zakaria Hanafi seemed to still be the favourite. Together with other local Umno and PAS leaders, they are holding low-profile campaign meeting with small voter groups.

Last night’s campaign trail also saw PKR stalwart Datuk Seri Azmin Ali hitting hard at former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is campaigning on his own and is not listed in the BN or PAS campaign schedules.

The campaign trail is picking up speed as both sides move nightly and campaign house-to-house, a technique that has proven more effective than the nightly ceramahs.

The campaign trail has another 11 long days to go and anything can happen within those days to turn the tide either way, but as issues unfold by the day, PH has more to lose than BN.