• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

Battle for Bagan Pinang begins

By Shanon Shah

October 3, 2009

THE Bagan Pinang state seat by-election could not have come at a more interesting time, in the fortunes of both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Each has its fair share of problems, providing plenty of ammunition for its rival.

Although Prime Minister and BN chairperson Datuk Seri Najib Razak keeps making attempts to restore public confidence, his coalition is riddled with crises of internal leadership. The BN federal government continues to struggle with handling issues such as the death of Teoh Beng Hock and the cow-head protest in Selangor.

Then there were the pre-nomination warnings by Umno veterans such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah against fielding Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, a former menteri besar found guilty of money politics by Umno’s disciplinary committee. And yet, the BN still chose Isa, quoting his continued popularity among Umno grassroots and local voters, and his track record of service.

The perennial controversy over postal votes is expected to crop up in this by-election. The PR has already voiced its concern over the possible manipulation of postal votes in Bagan Pinang, where such votes account for 4,604 or 33.37% of all registered voters.

The PR has its own share of headaches. Just look at the recent tussle in the Selangor government, with PAS’s exco Datuk Dr Hasan Ali publicly criticising the state’s Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency.

Also, for a coalition that promises an end to racial politics, it hasn’t figured out what to do with religious politics. Hasan’s repeated calls for alcohol-consuming Muslims to be nabbed come to mind. There’s also the PR’s unresolved stance towards Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s Zulkifli Noordin, who disrupted a Bar Council forum on conversion to Islam in August 2008.

And so, with both the BN and the PR knowing exactly where to hit so it hurts, the battle for Bagan Pinang begins. Polling is on 11 Oct. 

The Nut Graph needs your support

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: Pictures Tagged With: Bagan Pinang, Barisan Nasional, by-election, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, Isa Abdul Samad, Muslims, najib, nomination day, Pakatan Rakyat, pas, photo gallery, PKR, Selangor govt, SELCAT, Umno

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2023 The Nut Graph