Can Streram beat Mat Hasan in Rantau?

QUESTION TIME | It is not impossible for Dr S Streram to win against Umno acting president Mohamad Hasan in the Rantau state seat by-election, but it is an uphill task that will be made easier if PKR/Pakatan Harapan make the right moves in terms of strategy and campaigning.

Given the racial mix and the dynamics operating there, the results are likely to be close. Even if Streram loses, PKR has done the right thing, morally, ethically and strategically, by choosing to field Streram against calls to put in a Malay candidate to have a better chance against Mat Hasan, as he is popularly known, in his stronghold.

If the results are close, it will be a victory of sorts for PKR/Harapan, for, despite the race and religious rhetoric of Umno/PAS, a relative lightweight like Streram could come close to unseating Umno’s current chief, strengthening the argument for multi-racial politics in Malaysia, which is what PKR stands for.

If against all the odds, Streram upsets Mat Hasan, what a coup it would be for PKR/Harapan, especially PKR. They can rightly claim that they have beaten back, at least for now, the narrow racial and religious appeal of Umno/PAS...