NIBONG TEBAL: At least two to four polling districts can expect fierce battles in the Sungai Bakap by-election.
The four polling districts — Tasek Junjung, Puteri Gunong, Sungai Duri and Kampung Besar — were won either by Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional with a considerably low number of votes during the last state election.
According to Universiti Sains Malaysia's political analyst Datuk Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, the Tasek Junjung polling centre saw only an 80-vote difference in the last election.
Tasek Junjung is a Malay-majority seat.
"Tasek Junjung could be one of the focus because a swing is likely to happen there.
"Similarly, fierce battles are also expected in Puteri Gunong, Sungai Duri and Kampung Besar.
"I have yet to complete my survey, but there are signs that voters are undecided in these areas, most of which are Malay-majority," he told the New Straits Times.
The by-election for the Sungai Bakap state seat in Penang would see a straight fight between Pakatan Harapan's Dr Joohari Ariffin and Perikatan Nasional's Abidin Ismail.
The by-election is being held following the death of its assemblyman, Pas' Nor Zamri Latiff on May 24.
In the 2023 state polls, Nor Zamri won the state seat for PN against PKR's Nurhidayah Che Rus with a 1,563 vote majority.
(Hyperlink: https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2024/06/1066786/straight-fight-sung...).
The Sungai Bakap seat was won by the then Pakatan Rakyat and subsequently Pakatan Harapan since the 2008 general elections.
Sungai Bakap is a mixed seat, with Malays representing 59.4 per cent, followed by Chinese at 22.5 per cent, Indians at 17.4 per cent and others at 0.7 per cent.
Sivamurugan said the non-Malays would most likely still vote for the unity government, provided that the Ladang Sempah settlement issue is addressed well.
"As for PN, it may want to make sure it can retain the Malay voters and hope that increased turnout will be in its favour.
"Sungai Bakap, in particular, and Penang, in general, is close to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"One side still wants to keep the green wave, while another side wants to 'crack' the Malay votes to show it is not a safe deposit," he added.
Sivamurugan said a straight fight between PH and PN was expected.
He said that despite smaller parties indicating that they might contest the Sungai Bakap by-election, they ultimately chose to sit out.
"Maybe they are sitting out of the polls because, based on other by-election results, none could perform, and in fact, they lost deposits," he said.
