Of Pas and its gambit in Terengganu
KUALA TERENGGANU – For a state in which it already has a formidable clout and conspicuous presence, Pas’ recent political gambit, where it officially brought in its newest ally, in Terengganu seemed rather peculiar.
Why? Because historically, the battle in the oil-rich east coast state has always between the Islamist party and Barisan Nasional (BN) – specifically, Umno.
So strong the influence of the two parties that even Pakatan Harapan (PH), which made major inroads in the northern and southern regions, failed to win any state seats in the previous national poll (GE14) in Terengganu.
Basically, where Terengganu is concerned, there was hardly any pressing reason for Pas to open its doors to Perikatan Nasional (PN) – a coalition led by Pribumi Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
And yet it did. So, what gives?
“One needs to look at it from a different perspective. The bigger picture,” said Pas vice-president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhar – he is also the Menteri Besar of Terengganu.
“We cannot ignore the fact that Pas will contest in other states too. We know that Bersatu has nothing here in Terengganu, but we also have to take care of the Pas in other states as well,” reasoned the 51-year-old former aerospace engineer.
In GE14, Pas contested in all 32 state seats. It won 22, whereas BN-Umno bagged ten seats and of the ten, only two seats were won by BN with huge majority; Langkap: 3,446 votes and Telemung: 4,159 votes.
Against such a backdrop, it will invariably be tricky for Pas to divvy up seats among its allies in PN in Terengganu, especially with Bersatu given the two parties’ similar target group – the Malays.
“We still haven’t finished discussing seat allocations. ‘Insyallah’ in the next few weeks, we will settle it,” said Samsuri who is also the chairman of Terengganu PN.
The three east coast states in the peninsula; Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang, are overwhelmingly Malay with power tussles are mainly confined between Umno and Pas.
And while Pas has ruled Kelantan uninterruptedly since the 1990 elections and Umno has yet to lose Pahang since the pre-merdeka polls in 1954, the scenario in Terengganu however, is a tad volatile.
Historically, the voters in Terengganu have allowed both Pas and Umno to govern the state, with the Islamist party being brought to power from 1959 – 1961; 1999 – 2004 and 2018 till present.
“Within these 51 months, the state GLCs have doubled in revenue, close to RM2 billion compared to the RM700 million recorded during the previous administration,” Samsuri fondly exclaimed.
“We may not be the best, but we are capable of doing things differently and get better result. This is something that we will offer to the people of Terengganu in the next GE.
“The young voters and the first-time voters make up 20% of the voter base here, they are uncharted territories but even so, we believe they are reasonable and well-informed of the developments in the state,” he added.
