COMMENTARY, Nov 16 — With three more days to polling, warring parties are making the final push.
This general election though is only for federal seats as PAS states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah as well as Pakatan Harapan (PH) states of Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan did not dissolve their state assemblies thus no state elections.
Johor, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak held their state elections earlier and are now only holding parliamentary elections.
The political battle is tense in the northern states of Perlis, Kedah and Perak where the Malay voters are being targeted by warring parties: Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN), Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional (PN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Gabungan Tanah Air (GTA).
The fight for Malay supremacy in these states has a long history for Islamist PAS and BN with BN always winning until the 2018 general election where BN lost to PH.
However, BN is back and is now giving the other parties a run for their money as the coalition inches forward to reclaim its lost ground.
Traditionally BN’s election machinery works best at the last minute and that is why BN is now seen to have regained its influence in Baling, Padang Terap, Pendang, Kulim Bandar Baru and Langkawi in Kedah.
PKR and PN are expected to win the rest with PN taking the largest share given that PAS has a hold on its grassroots aided by Bersatu which has no grassroots whatsoever.
Perlis is now considered grey, not white yet for BN as the younger generation or Undi 18 voters are inclined to support BN despite former mentri besar Tan Sri Shahidan Kassim being very popular and influential.
While Shahidan is expected to win the Arau parliament seat, the other two seats of Padang Besar and Kangar are expected to go with BN.
Shahidan is leading the battle for PN to take Perlis after he was dropped from contesting and the bitterness led him to take the offer from PN to crush BN in the state.
Perak is the last BN bastion in the north as the coalition battles the onslaught of PH under Anwar’s aggressive charge to take the state.
At present the task may be too heavy for Anwar alone as he has to attract Malay voters to push up his party’s position among the Malays who have probably made up their minds which party to vote for.
BN seems to have a comfortable position in 35 of the 40 Malay majority state seats and the coalition is trying to gain more ground while PH has a hold on 18 and it may gain few more the next three days.
