COMMENTARY, March 13 — For the Rantau by-election, the element of surprise usually reserved for Nomination Day was lost when Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) announced its candidate would be Dr S Streram.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the candidate early, three weeks to the nomination date which has been fixed for March 30.
The BN candidate is, of course, no surprise as Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan — more fondly known as Mat Hasan — has been the assemblyman there for three terms.
He was also the mentri besar of Negri Sembilan before the BN government went down in last year’s general election.
The only new move on BN’s side this time around is that the opposition coalition has formalised its political co-operation with PAS which broadens its support base among the Malays.
In short, BN has all angles covered in terms of reaching out to voters but in terms of support, the opposition coalition needs to find the edge because the ruling PH holds the trump card when it comes to development.
Despite the advantage of being a ruling coalition, PH needs to do lots of remedial work before Nomination Day and probably that was why Anwar announced the candidate early – to stem dissent before the fight begins officially.
Dr Streram’s candidacy is not fully supported by PKR division members in Rantau despite him being fielded during the last general election.
He was barred from contesting because the Election Commission (EC) officers stopped him from entering the polling centre when he forgot to bring his name tag.
Dr Streram who is PKR Rantau deputy division chief claimed he had been working hard in the constituency way before the May 2018 general election but did not have a chance to face off with Mat Hassan.
Now that Anwar has given him a second chance, Streram may find the ground different from what it was a few months ago; the issues are no longer about BN but instead against his party and the ruling coalition.
It is now the opposite of what he experienced before the general election and he may find himself in rough waters, the waves high and the terrain or political landscape changed.
BN and its ally PAS are now seeking a referendum, as in the Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-elections in Pahang and the just concluded Semenyih state seat by-elections in Selangor against the coalition.
Besides that BN still has MCA and MIC to deal with the Chinese and Indian voters in the constituency which analysts and observers assume would not count for much but in a constituency where there are only 20,926 voters, one per cent shift makes a big difference.
Focusing on Malays and Islam being marginalised by PH, BN and PAS are also hitting hard on the cost of living.
In Rantau, Malays comprise 55.11 per cent or 11,283 voters, Indians total 5,336 to make up 26 per cent, Chinese 3,849 to make up 18.8 per cent and the remainder is made up of others.
The demographics is mostly estate workers and kampung folks doing odd jobs and small businesses; the rising cost of living has been the main discontent among Malaysians which contributed to BN-PAS victories in Cameron Highlands and Semenyih.
Women make up 10,583 voters with men a little less at 10,343, which means that the cost of living and religion are important factors that may tilt the balance.
