“POCKET money” given to lure Kelantanese back home to cast their votes in the upcoming state polls will be a major issue considering the fact that PAS’ strength in several seats can be at risk of out-of-state voters opt to not come back and vote, says a political analyst.
According to an FMT report, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) Dr Mazlan Ali said checks on election records since 2018 indicated that PAS relies heavily on out-of-state voters to defeat the opposition in six to 10 constituencies.
He said voters are “keen” to return home to cast their ballots when there is “fuel money” provided.
“When logistics becomes an issue, those who want to return home will think twice about it. If the out-of-state voters don’t come back, PAS will have problems,” he noted.
While Mazlan anticipated that PAS will emerge victorious over the opposition, he also acknowledged that the Barisan Nasional (BN)-Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance could bridge the deficit in the state assembly.
He feels BN has a potential to enhance its seat count as a result of its collaboration with PH, especially if PAS supporters living elsewhere do not return home to vote.
However, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussain contended that the lack of a prominent UMNO leader in Kelantan makes it challenging for the BN-PH coalition to win many seats.
“If you want to place your hope on Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, he has been defeated in Gua Musang. Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has “run off” to Grik and was taken out, and other leaders are not that strong,” he said.
According to Atory, former Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa can still contribute value to PAS in Kelantan.
BN only holds only 8 out of the 45 state assembly seats in Kelantan with the rest are held by PAS.
The 15th general election last year saw Perikatan Nasional, which consists of PAS and Bersatu, taking over all the federal seats in the state. – May 5, 2023
