BN working to win Malacca CM a good name

If the number of flags put up by a certain party is any guide to how the tide will swing in an election, then the Merlimau polls could very well be a walkover for the BN.

Asked about this, Jasin parliamentarian and Umno division leader Ahmad Hamzah laughed, saying: "If this is true, then it will make my life a lot easier."

But why the pressure when winning a by-election, or even pushing up its winning majority, does little for the BN in the context of the Malacca state assembly, where the ruling coalition now holds 23 out of 28 seats?

Enter Malacca Chief Minister Mohammad Ali Rustam (right), a former Umno vice-president whose ambition of moving up the party leadership ladder is no secret.

Disqualified from the contest for deputy presidency in 2009 because of money politics, Ali remains influential and is seen as a possible successor to Muhyiddin Yassin.

To do so, however, he will have to take on vice-presidents Hishamuddin Hussein, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Mohd Shafie Afdal, whose roles as cabinet ministers have put them in the national limelight.

With the spotlight now on the Merlimau by-election, it is Ali's chance to shine.

While the official campaign kicks off only on Feb 26, the BN state government has already mobilised its machinery to what Ahmad called "solving outstanding issues".

Carefully though, he added that these projects were already "in the national or state budgets and which should be done anyway, but we are completing them now".

PAS foresees pain ahead

The semi-rural constituency appears to have also been served well by the BN government and incumbent Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hassan, with facilities aplenty, including free wi-fi.

Many of the residents are employed at the palm oil Merlimau Industrial Estate, while others make a 30-minute drive into Malacca city for work.

Youth make up almost half of the voters, and much of the town's businesses serve the needs of the 6,000-plus students at the Politeknik Merlimau.

While those living in the oil palm and rubber estates are mostly Indians, the residential estates closer to Merlimau town boast multicultural middle class residents.

These factors spell an uphill battle for PAS, with its Merlimau by-election chief Jasme Tompang saying that winning the by-election would be a "painful" task.

"We are not the ruling party. Nak menang memang sakit (It will be difficult to win)...b ut we are working on reducing the winning majority, at least," he said.

For now, at least, their immediate challenge is to field a candidate who can compete with the BN's Roslan Ahmad (right) - who like Tenang winning candidate Mohd Azahar Ithnin, can be counted as hailing from local Umno warlords.

Roslan, a Perbadanan Melaka Holdings manager, is the son of a former Sungai Rambai (now Merlimau) assemblyperson Ahmad Ithnin, while his uncle was a former state chief minister, Abu Zahar Ithnin.

With PAS promising to field a local "PAS activist" when it announces the candidate tomorrow, the duel is starting to have an all too familiar ring.