Kelantan polls: 40 straight fights, a challenge for parties, voters
01 Aug 2023 11:46pm
In the 14th general election (GE14), only two seats in Kelantan witnessed a one-on-one clash in Tawang and Kuala Balah constituencies - FILE PIX
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Universiti Utara Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur Campus) senior research fellow Associate Prof Dr Baharuddin Aziz said that in the 14th general election (GE14), only two seats in Kelantan witnessed a one-on-one clash in Tawang and Kuala Balah constituencies.
He said the rest witnessed more than three-cornered contest between parties such as Barisan Nasional (BN), PAS and PKR, resulting in 'split votes' among voters to choose the deserving candidate.
"However, for the state polls this time it is quite different when almost all state assembly seats in Kelantan have turned into single combats which would be a challenge for the voters because whether they like it or not they have to choose between two competing candidates and have no other choice but to vote the candidate for party or personal reasons.
"From this point of view we can see, what is the political appetite of the people of Kelantan whether they want to stay with the current state government which is PAS or want a change in administration by choosing the central government which is currently the Unity Government ruling the country," he said when contacted by Bernama, today.
Commenting further, Baharuddin said the voter's support this time will also show how the results of the efforts made by the central and state governments over the years are worthwhile or not through various development agendas, social and, economic for the people in Kelantan.
In the GE14, a total of 36 constituencies in Kelantan recorded three-cornered fights, while six seats namely Tendong, Pengkalan Pasir, Meranti, Chetok, Guchil and Manek Urai (four corners) and Kota Lama (five corners).
Out of 45 state seats, PAS won 37 seats, while BN won eight seats before Air Lanas assemblyman, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed left UMNO to join Bersatu.
Taking into account the results of GE14, the coalition between BN and PH could win another eight seats, namely in Pengkalan Kubor, Wakaf Bharu, Kota Lama, Apam Putra, Melor, Semerak, Kemuning and Guchil in this state election.
With that, PAS would only win 29 seats not including the Air Lanas seat which is an UMNO stronghold.
Meanwhile, Universiti Sains Malaysia political science lecturer, Prof Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said politics in Kelantan is actually more geared towards the traditional clash between BN and PAS despite having other coalition parties.
"The challenge for the PAS party is definitely to defend Kelantan after more than 30 years rule and how they can fend off all the issues raised by the opposition such as water problems, utilities and so on.
"Meanwhile, for BN and PH who are representing the central government, they will continue to fight for the rights that the people of Kelantan should have so that they do not continue to lag behind other states in terms of development, infrastructure and so on," he said.
In this time election, 40 state assembly seats will feature a one-on-one clash, four constituencies (three-cornered), while the Kota Lama state assembly seat will see a four-cornered fight . -Bernama
