NO X-FACTOR IN BY-ELECTION

It is quite shocking to hear Pakatan leaders predicting that she may win by as little as 5,000 votes. These are people who have always been so ultra confident about their tsunami politics and the support they enjoy in Penang.

Joceline Tan, The Star

THE ladies say that Suhaimi Sabudin is tall, dark and quite handsome. Suhaimi, a quantity surveyor, is the Barisan Nasional candidate in the Permatang Pauh by-election. But they have one complaint though – he is a tad too serious.

“I think I have recovered from my shock (at being named the candidate). I’m okay now,” he said as he prepared to begin what might be the most gruelling 13 days of his life.

He is taking on a big name in a constituency that has acquired a legendary reputation over the years. At 43, he is also the youngest in the four-cornered fight.

Good looks are useful in a people-oriented profession like politics but his youth is going to be the key advantage. The feedback is that the voters will be quite receptive to someone younger after decades of supporting the first couple of PKR politics.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail have, between them, held the seat for a total of 33 years.

PKR’s own survey shows that many voters still like the party but are lukewarm to the idea of having Kak Wan again, especially given that she already has commitments in Kajang where she is the assemblywoman.

Moreover, she is 62 and few people think she is up to juggling constituencies in two different states. But Kak Wan looked sprightly yesterday as she waved her trademark folding fan at the crowd at the nomination centre.

It was a largely PKR crowd. The PAS supporters who are so crucial to making up the numbers at Pakatan Rakyat events seem to have disappeared. PAS leaders keep telling reporters their party’s threat to boycott the by-election has been resolved but their missing members tell a different story.

Penang deputy PAS chief Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof has been working hard behind the scenes to get the two sides to sit down and talk.

There have been several urgent meetings between PKR and PAS leaders to defuse the boycott decision of the Permatang Pauh PAS division over PKR’s stand against the PAS hudud law.

Pakatan leaders were so relieved when the division chief Omar Hassan showed up at the nomination centre that they made him sit in the cushy armchair reserved for Dr Wan Azizah.

Omar looked glum and uncomfortable and told The Star that he was there because he had been assured that all the Muslim MPs of PKR will not reject his party’s hudud move. When asked whether there had been an apology as demanded by his division, he responded with a fierce stare.

“The important thing is that Haji Omar is here with us today. This sort of thing happens everywhere,” said Dr Mujahid.

But it could not have happened at a worse time for Dr Wan Azizah. Support for her husband had been on the ebb even before he was convicted for sodomising his former aide. Her previous wins in Permatang Pauh had hinged heavily on the sympathy factor and her party is hoping for more of that.

A number of PKR leaders admitted to reporters that they are fortunate to be able to ride on the GST issue which has hurt the pockets of kampung folk. DAP, which is so strong among the Chinese on the island side, has limited traction in Permatang Pauh where 70% of the votes are Malay. There has also been little interest among them about the cable car and LRT projects announced by the state government.

It is not a struggle for Dr Wan Azizah to win, but she is certainly struggling to maintain the 11,000-vote majority held by her husband.

It is quite shocking to hear Pakatan leaders predicting that she may win by as little as 5,000 votes. These are people who have always been so ultra confident about their tsunami politics and the support they enjoy in Penang.

No one quite knew what to make of the other two candidates, Salleh Isahak, 53, and Azman Shah Othman, 50. The latter was not even sure whether he was a Parti Rakyat member and quickly left the hall when reporters pressed him for his phone number.

Barisan leaders were also sending out conflicting signals. On the one hand, they say that Suhaimi had a fighting chance in the contest, in the next breath, they say it would be an uphill challenge for him.

Suhaimi is the underdog here. Despite his good looks and impressive qualifications, he lacks that certain X-factor that make people go, wow! Fortunately for him, his key opponent’s X-factor is also not what it used to be. But these are still early days. The tide may shift and the weather may change.