When Najib Razak said by-elections are distracting attention from things that matters like the economy, he might risk contradiction if he had said Barisan Nasional would participate in the Penanti by-election, made possible by the resignation of former Deputy Chief Minister of Penang, Mohamad Fairus Khairuddin. By indicating that BN may forfeit the by-election, Najib Razak may have taken the battle to another plane where the odds suddenly shift against Pakatan Rakyat.
It is hard to imagine how BN would win in Penanti, despite the possibility of seeing Pakatan on the defensive due to the scandals associated with a number of Pakatan politicians, specifically attached to Parti Keadilan Rakyat. This is so because Penanti is part of Permatang Pauh, the Parliamentary constituency of the wildly popular Anwar Ibrahim.
BN may have taken a fatalistic perspective towards the outcome of Penanti by-election and that is a fair position to take. At the same time, further defeat at the hand of Pakatan will contribute to downward momentum suffered by BN, despite talks of renewal by BN and BN-backed media. Further defeat will work against the BN media, further distancing created image promoted by the mainstream media and reality on the ground.
And so, skipping the by-election is a good option for Najib Razak. Indeed, with it, he kills two birds with one stone.
It is so not only because skipping the by-election puts a stop — notwithstanding time horizon — to the expanding divide between created image and reality by eliminating a possible further proof for BN unpopularity. The act also gives BN and more than anything else, the Najib administration a chip to shore up its position of concentrating on the economy, which is taking a beating despite sporadic good news appearing here and there.
By skipping the by-election and appearing above politics, the Najib administration takes over a moral high ground of fighting for the benefits of the people, the country. While doing so, BN can continue accusing Pakatan of interested only in politicking and not the greater good. This is especially easy to do if Pakatan continues to assault BN on issues of Perak.
That is almost unfair to Pakatan since Perak was wrestled by BN from them and therefore, Pakatan has every right to continue to politically assault BN in Perak. One has to remember however that there are increasing number of individuals becoming tired of such politicking. Already, the phrase voter fatigue is out and about, indicating that Malaysians may have finally approached a politicking saturation point.[1]
This is really a chance for BN to outflank Pakatan. For Najib Razak himself, it is chance to prove that he is a statesman instead of a mere politician. Whether this is real or apparent, that is hard to say but tactically, his maneuver is an effort to achieve that statesman status.
Pakatan should be mindful of being outflanked because that is not the only effort based on outflanking by the Najib administration.
Already the Najib administration tries to appear to be liberal despite the illiberalness of UMNO grassroot. His rhetoric appears as such, talking about a more open society. Najib’s rhetoric may appear empty, fuzzy and cloudy but it does show some effort at becoming a more open government, however small the steps that is.
Liberal attitude, specifically regarding open society, has been the domain of Pakatan. Even the conservative PAS — despite the debate in PAS on the matter — is regarded as more liberal than UMNO with respect to freedom.
If UMNO in particular can prove that it is liberal enough — meaning, not as in a real liberal’s wet dream but just enough to show its commitment to a more open society — UMNO and in general BN may be able to eliminate a reason why many individuals vote for Pakatan.
Whether that gap can be closed or not, the intention or at least the appearance to do so is there. Pakatan must take heed of this trend, lest they may find themselves at a disadvantaged position come the next general election.
Because of this, if BN decides to forfeit Penang, Pakatan should not celebrate too hard. In fact, Pakatan watch out to its sides to secure its flank because Pakatan Rakyat is probably facing a new BN smarting for past mistakes, even if that smarting process is going at a slow rate.
[1] — “By and large, there is fatigue among voters,” says Ibrahim Suffian, chief of opinion research firm Merdeka Centre. However, he says that this by-election is notable as it could be the first where a state assembly representative has resigned on account of integrity issues. [As Penanti by-election looms, polls fatigue a concern . Lee Wei Lian. The Malaysian Insider. April 16 2009]