Najib factor not cause of lower Rompin majority, says BN

KUALA LUMPUR — Leaders from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition have disputed views that a reduced majority at the recent Rompin by-election was a sign of voters' cooling response towards Mr Najib Razak's leadership.

Instead, issues like the goods and services tax (GST), a complacent election machinery and gloomy sentiments over falling palm oil prices could have contributed to its diminished performance, said BN leaders from both Malay ruling party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and senior Chinese partner Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) who played down the Najib factor.

The most important thing, they said, was that BN retained the federal seat despite efforts by the opposition.

UMNO's Pulai MP Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the party's machinery in Rompin and voter apathy were contributing factors to the lower majority.

"The PAS (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) candidate managed to get almost the same votes as compared with the last GE. So their support is still strong.

"But Rompin UMNO machinery's commitment is questionable because they did not manage to increase the level of turnout and votes despite it being a by-election and the huge resources spent.

"The slimmer majority could be narrowed further in the next GE if Rompin UMNO remains complacent in a 85 per cent Malay majority seat," Mr Nur Jazlan said in a WhatsApp message to The Malaysian Insider.

Kuantan MCA Division Chief Ti Lian Ker also dismissed the Najib factor, or lack of it, since the BN's campaign did not feature posters of the prime minister nor his presence much, despite Pahang being his own state.

Mr Najib's Pekan constituency is in Pahang.

"Najib's presence was never in Rompin all along, it was more associated with JJ," he said in referring to the late Rompin MP Jamaluddin Jarjis's moniker.

He attributed the lower turnout to a "silent protest" against the GST and the slump in palm oil prices, as many of electorate in the rural constituency were Felda settlers, a scheme to help the poor plant cash crops like oil palm.

He said this proved that people are becoming more issue-centric and playing up racial and religious sentiments did not drive the electorate to vote for either BN or UMNO.

"Of late, we can see political posturing where UMNO and PAS are trying to outdo each other but it is not winning them any votes.

"It is time for BN to take stock of this signal. There are issues that need to be resolved and resorting to racial and religious political antics does not work any more," Mr Ti said.

But analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan said that while the GST and financial scandals involving state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were some of the factors at play, he felt that Mr Najib's lacklustre leadership was a reason for BN winning only 61 per cent of total votes cast.

In contrast, in the 13th general election two years ago, BN won 30,040 out of a total of 45,849 votes or 66 per cent of the total votes. Rompin was a typical BN stronghold of mostly rural voters.

"The slashing of the majority at this scale indicates there are more than local issues involved here. It boiled down to issues surrounding Mr Najib's leadership.

"The way I see it, voters are reacting to how they see Najib – incapable of moving the country forward – and they are translating this by not turning up to vote," Mr Wan Saiful told The Malaysian Insider, adding that voting on a weekday could have affected turnout as well.

BN's Mr Hasan Arifin won the by-election by 8,895 votes compared with the 15,114 majority garnered by Mr Jamaluddin in GE13.

The Election Commission placed voters turnout at 73 per cent compared with 86 per cent recorded in the 13GE.

Mr Najib has said BN would do a post-mortem on its performance.

“We admit Barisan Nasional’s share of the vote dropped from 66.53 per cent to 61 per cent, although the winning majority was still at a comfortable level.

“We will analyse the results of the Rompin by-election this time and do a post-mortem so that going forward we can do better,” national news agency Bernama quoted Mr Najib, who is also BN chairman, as saying in blog post yesterday.

Mr Wan Saiful said voices against Mr Najib were expected to become stronger, especially those from within UMNO.

"Najib needs to take his role as a leader more seriously and lead effectively but I feel it's a little too late now. Public perception has solidified against him and it's really difficult to change that now," said the Head of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).

But former Wanita Umno Chief Rafidah Aziz said there was no point in pointing fingers as at the end of the day, what was important was that BN won at a still comfortable majority.

"We cannot assign any reasons (as to BN's reduced majority). Even at these challenging times, BN won credibly and to me, that's important.

"I would have been worried if the majority is 800, but an 8,000-plus majority is not to be scoffed at," she said.

The former international trade and industry minister said BN could be returned stronger if Putrajaya improved on its governance, initiatives and communication with the public, especially on issues like 1MDB. THE MALYSIAN INSIDER