Party loyalty no longer factor in Kuala Nerus parliamentary - Political analyst

The presence of various higher education institutions, such as Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Sultan Zainal Abidin University and Teacher Education Institute as well as the proliferation of small industries, have led the area to be dominated by outsiders.

Looking at the scenario, head researcher at ILHAM Centre', Dr Mohd Yusri Ibrahim said the voting pattern in the Kuala Nerus parliamentary constituency has basically changed to those with more independent thinking, maturity and do not depend on party politics alone, compared to rural voters.

"From a historical point of view, we can say that in Terengganu, the voting pattern is heavily influenced by political based parties, but in Kuala Nerus, it is different, taking into account the segment of young voters, first-time voters and suburban areas, making the party loyalty factor no longer dominant.

"Electors in the rural areas, especially the Malays with a moderate socio-economic level and below, are heavily influenced by parties that are formed by hardcore or loyal voters, and this advantage belongs to the two largest Malay parties, UMNO and Pas.

"Similarly in Kuala Nerus in the early stages, UMNO got an advantage from hardcore and grassroots voters, but with the migration, that advantage was no longer there because outsiders have their own independent thoughts, " said the political analyst to Bernama recently.

Mohd Yusri said the high number of young and first-time electors in the Kuala Nerus constituency in the 15th General Election (GE15), which is 32 per cent of the total 105,952 electors, would trigger unexpected results.

He said although incumbent Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali won with a large majority on Pas ticket, the perspective is different now because the young and first-time voters have their own minds and are not influenced by family doctrine or party elements.

"Therefore, the voting in the Kuala Nerus constituency will see an open fight between Pas and BN while the candidates from PH and Pejuang will not have much influence," he said.

Terengganu Veteran UMNO chairman Datuk Muda Mamat said Mohd Khairuddin is a big figure at the national level and is one of the pioneers of the Muafakat Nasional and has been a member of the Cabinet, thus his position gives him added value.

"He has also served as Kuala Nerus elected representative for two terms, accepted by the people here (Kuala Nerus), and liked by all the voters, including from UMNO, despite him being a Pas leader at the time.

"His character as a religious man and who often gives religious talks at mosques in Kuala Nerus is a bonus," he said.

"To conclude, Mohd Khairuddin, who is popularly known as Takiri, is definitely capable of challenging Pas candidate, he said.

Pas first captured the Kuala Nerus parliament seat from BN in GE13 when Mohd Khairuddin won with a majority of 610 votes, and he retained the seat in GE14 with an even bigger majority, of 8,447 votes.

The Kuala Nerus parliamentary seat has become one of the focus seats in GE15 as Mohd Khairuddin is defending the seat, but as a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, in a four-cornered fight, including against Pas candidate Datuk Dr Alias Razak, who is the State Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee chairman.

The other two other competitors for the seat are Pakatan Harapan (PH-Amanah) candidate, Datuk Seri Suhaimi Hashim and candidate from Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang-Putra) Azaha Wahid.

-- BERNAMA