Surveys show Syed Azman is Pas best hope for KT vote

Two independent surveys commissioned by Pas have revealed that Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi is the party’s best hope to capture the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in the Jan 17 by-election.

The Islamist party called for the surveys in its search for the most popular candidate after dismal outings for the seat in the past two general elections.

In both surveys, the Batu Burok state assemblyman came out tops over Pas commissioner Datuk Mustafa Ali and deputy state commissioner Datuk Wan Mutalib Embong to represent the party.

Both veterans have been ruled out as Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has indicated a younger candidate would be fielded, narrowing the choice between Syed Azman, who was Kuala Terengganu MP between 1999 and 2004, and businessman Professor Khazani Abdullah.

Hadi will announce the party candidate on Jan 1 ahead of the Jan 6 nomination day.

“Both surveys show Syed Azman and BN’s Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as the top choices to take the seat. So Pas is likely to field Syed Azman,” a national Pas official familiar with the surveys told The Malaysian Insider.

Wan Ahmad Farid, who leads the Kuala Terengganu Umno division, has been named as BN’s candidate in the by-election called after its MP Datulk Razali Ismail died in late November. The deputy education minister was a two-term MP who won by a slim 628 majority against Pas’s Mohamed Sabu and grandmother Maimun Yusof.

Maimun has signalled she is ready to seek a mandate from the 80,229 voters in the seat which has attracted the interest of another independent and Pas splinter party Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim).

It is understood that Wan Ahmad Farid, who will quit both his appointments as deputy home minister and as senator, made the cut due to his influence in the area and control of party machinery. His hopes had dimmed when he was re-appointed for a second term as senator early this month but Umno still named him over the state Umno’s choice of state education senior official Mohd Zuber Embong.

Both Umno and Pas have had to grapple with various options for the seat which is crucial to both their fortunes after the March 8 General Elections which saw BN losing its customary two third parliamentary majority and four more states to the opposition. Pas had won 23 parliamentary seats but came behind its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies and is seen as a junior partner in the electoral pact.

Party spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who is also Kelantan Menteri Besar, had endorsed Mohamed Sabu to contest again but the Penang leader is seen as an outsider in the constituency which both Umno and its rivals have traded since the 1980s. Razali was also the first MP in recent times to keep the seat again.

For BN, it must win the by-election to prove it has regained its strength after also losing the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who took back his political stronghold from his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

The by-election is also crucial to BN election director Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, the Umno president-elect who is slated to succeed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi next March. Incidentally, Wan Ahmad Farid was political secretary to Abdullah and his candidacy is seen as proof of Abdullah's continued influence in Umno.

BN is set to exploit Pas’s recent reaffirmation it will implement Islamic criminal hudud laws if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power. Vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, who made the statement in a debate with Umno Youth chief hopeful Khairy Jamaluddin in a debate last week, has hastily clarified his statements after Pakatan Rakyat ally Democratic Action Party (DAP) objected to it.

Both parties fell out over the same issue after the 1999 general elections where the opposition gained more seats due to Anwar’s sacking as deputy prime minister and finance minister by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

-TMI