EVERYONE knew it was a tight race between two Malay Muslim parties. On the night of 17 Jan 2009, as the votes were counted for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the ebb and flow of emotions outside the tallying centre was both audible and palpable. Tens of thousands had gathered outside the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin [...]

(From left) PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Abdul Wahid PAS has wrested the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat from Barisan Nasional (BN) by a 2,631-vote margin, with a greater swing in Malay Malaysian votes to the Islamist party. PAS also swept the parliamentary votes in all four [...]

(Updated 11.34pm, 17 Jan 2009) Abdul Wahid Endut with his wife, and five of his nine children, outside the polling station at Sek Keb Pusat Chabang Tiga KUALA TERENGGANU, 17 Jan 2009: PAS candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut has won the Kuala Terengganu by-election with a 2,631-vote majority in a spectacular win that wrested the [...]

A man peers over his shoulder outside Pasar Payang (All pics by Lainie Yeoh, unless otherwise noted) SATURDAY, 17 Jan 2009, is D-Day for Kuala Terengganu, but things are no clearer as to which way the votes will go. Trying to understand how voters here decide has been an intriguing exercise. Despite enthusiastic responses to [...]