Umno plays up Arif Shah’s positive image

PERMATANG PAUH, Aug 20 — Umno is on very unfamiliar ground in this Penang by-election.

Gone are the swagger and confidence of its leaders, as it faces an uphill task in fighting against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the safest seat for Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

This is a far cry from the 2007 by-election in Ijok, Selangor, when the government poured in millions of ringgit for development projects — repairing roads, installing street lights, and clearing choked drains — within a two-week period.

Umno knows that wresting the Permatang Pauh seat is highly unlikely, however much money is poured in, party insiders say.

“We are going in as an underdog. But we are committed to working hard and giving our best. It may look like an uphill battle but it is not impossible based on our good track record, especially in terms of social services,” said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Saturday.

The underdog is thus changing tactics by adopting a two-pronged, low-decibel strategy.

One strategy calls for Anwar's former political secretary Ezam Mohd Nor to speak out against the man he worked closely for.

On the other hand, Umno is playing up the positive image of its candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, helped by local newspapers and television channels.

On Saturday, Ezam assailed his former boss for allegedly handing out projects worth RM1 billion each to 15 Bumiputera companies when he was deputy prime minister and finance minister.

“These projects were given out under direct negotiations under the finance minister's (Anwar) instruction. Now he talks about open tenders, but when he was in the Finance Ministry, he gave to cronies,” Ezam was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini online news.

Arif Shah, meanwhile, is being portrayed as the man who could do no wrong.

He has played to the hilt his knowledge of Mandarin and Hokkien. He is shown in the local newspapers reading a Chinese daily and on the popular TV3 news explaining some issues to voters in Mandarin.

When parts of the constituency were inundated by heavy rains on Monday, he was pictured wading through the floodwaters to talk to residents.

But unlike Anwar, Arif Shah's campaign team has not yet arranged for him to speak at big ceramahs (political gatherings).

There is talk that the local Umno machinery has failed him due to intra-party rivalry between Arif Shah and local political warlords.

Party workers say federal Umno and Barisan Nasional machinery have been cranked up to help him instead.

Najib, along with many other Cabinet ministers, has been coming in to boost the morale of the troops.

While Anwar's team send daily e-mail messages and SMSes to reporters to inform them of next-day campaign stops, no such information flow has emerged from Arif Shah's camp unless his aides could be reached by phone.

But, this does not mean Arif Shah has been keeping still. Instead of relying on speaking at big gatherings, Arif Shah has been making house-to-house and shop-to-shop visits to reach out to voters.

-TMI