KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional’s (BN) victory in the Nenggiri by-election yesterday is “a huge surprise” and is down to the federal government’s policies under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said.
He cited the move to raise civil servants’ salaries, steadfast support for the Palestinian cause and assistance to Kelantan even though it is a state run by the opposition PAS.
Zaid, who previously predicted a Perikatan Nasional (PN) win in Nenggiri by a more than 3,000-vote majority, said he was proven wrong and was now “surprised” by the outcome.
“Umno’s big win has little to do with their resurgence or sudden fondness for leader (Datuk Seri Ahmad) Zahid Hamidi. It has everything to do with Anwar Ibrahim’s popularity,” he said on X.
Zahid is Umno president and BN chairman, and is deputy prime minister in Anwar’s government.
However, Zaid said the Nenggiri poll showed that Anwar “is the preferred leader, not (PAS president Tan Sri Abdul) Hadi Awang or (PN chairman Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Yasin. The power of incumbency is strong and unmistakable”.
“The opposition’s colossal loss was due to Anwar’s astute salary increase for civil servants, and of course, introducing ATMs in the area was a popular move.
“The PM’s strong support for Kelantan’s development and helping in the Palestinian cause has also endeared him to the Malay base there,” added Zaid, who is a former Kota Bahru MP.
The former Umno politician also said the lesson from BN’s win in Nenggiri is that issues like reforms and election manifesto promises of change do not matter as much as development aid and religion.
“If the leader can be generous with development and handouts and keep reminding the Malays about their Islamic struggles in any way, the leader will be accepted,” he said.
In the by-election yesterday, BN candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani won over the PN candidate Mohd Rizwadi Ismail, from PAS, by a majority of 3,352 votes.
Zaid also said the Bersatu and PAS alliance in PN will grow weaker from this point on, noting that they have “nothing to offer now except to lament why they were not chosen to form the government in the first place”. – August 18, 2024