Voices from Kuala Besut and a prayer for Najib (updated - results)

FINAL UPDATES

From NST Alert -

NST 24/07: Tengku Zaihan (BN) won the Kuala Besut by-election with a majority of 2,592. He obtained 8,288 votes while Azlan @ Endut (Pas) got 5,696

UPDATES 6

This just in from NST alert -

NST 24/07: Kuala Besut by-election: Unofficial: Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman (BN) obtained 6,966 votes, Pas candidate Azlan @ Endut Yusuf (4,324)

UPDATES 5

Sources in Kuala Besut indicated that BN had won all the remaining ballot boxes of Seberang Barat, Seberang Barat Luar, Kampung Nail, Kampung Bahru and Kampung Nangka.

Kampung Nangka which is the main stronghold of Pas in the constituency was won by BN by a majority of less than 20 votes. It is the other ballot box along with Bukit Puteri lost by BN in GE13.

UPDATES 4

Sources in Kuala Besut indicated that BN had won the ballot box of Alor Peroi, of Tok Saboh by over 500 votes majority.

The sources also said that BN had won a majority of less than 30 votes for the Bukit Puteri ballot box. BN had lost there by a majority of 90 votes in GE13.

UPDATES 3

Things are looking good for BN at this moment.

Sources from Kuala Besut indicated that BN had also won the ballot box of Bukit Puteri, which it lost in GE13. Details were however unavailable for now.

Pas had won two out of the eight ballot boxes of Kuala Besut in GE13. The two are Bukit Puteri and Kampung Nangka.

UPDATES 2

This just came in from NST Alert -

NST 24/07: The Kuala Besut by-election recorded a total of 13,188 voters or 79.76pc turnout at closing time at 5pm, says Election Commission.

UPDATES 1

Sources from Kuala Besut indicated that BN is leading Pas after the votes at the ballot box of Pulau Perhentian were counted.

It was said that BN obtained over 400 votes while Pas got less than 200 votes. Total number of voters on the island is just over 900.

The ballot box for the island was closed for voting early at 3pm while the other seven on the mainland are closed at 5pm.

ORIGINAL POSTING

Tomorrow is the big day in Kuala Besut.

Reports that I read indicated that BN will win the by-election.

Friends who are in Kuala Besut also told me the same, albeit maybe with a smaller majority than the over 2,400 votes won by the late Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar in GE13, barely two months ago.

I was told that  BN will probably this time win by a majority of about 1,600 votes.

The smaller majority was said due to the expected lower turn out of outstation voters.

If that is the case then it's quite understandable because Hari Raya is just around the corner and those from Kuala Besut living in the big cities may want to save their leave for the celebrations.

But, I'm quite sure the BN candidate, Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Rahman will win. Besut is after all the territory of DS Idris Jusoh, the brilliant tactician who won back Terengganu for BN in 2004.

If this by-election was in another part of Terengganu, then I would not be very sure about BN's chances considering the very divisive leadership of the current State BN chairman and Menteri Besar DS Ahmad Said.

It's particularly disappointing when my friends in Kuala Besut told me that Ahmad's people had till this last day of campaigning still griping about the choice of Tengku Zaihan as the BN's candidate. They had wanted an ustaz of their choice instead of the young engineer. Of course Idris was blamed for the whole thing.

I think this is the problem which needed to be overcome by Umno - the habit of undermining their own party by putting their own personal or their group's interests ahead of the perjuangan untuk agama, bangsa dan negara.

Notwithstanding that, I do believe BN will prevail in Kuala Besut. Hopefully things would improve for the coalition in the State from then on.

I'm also hopeful for BN chairman and Umno president DS Najib Razak to do something to heal the rift within Terengganu Umno after the by-election.

Without unity, it will be the end of Umno.

I'm still keeping my faith that DS Najib will sooner or later make the necessary moves to heal what ever wounds suffered by BN and Umno in GE13.

Yes, I was disappointed with several moves that he made over the past two months following GE13, but I have to keep trusting him for now because I don't see anyone else capable of taking over the lead at the moment.

I read with a degree of sympathy this posting by a Datuk Najib's loyalist,

In spite of previous problems he inherited, Najib did well!

It reminded me of how I had pledged to do all I can to help DS Najib, particularly in winning back the Chinese support which in the aftermath of 2008 were already known to be slipping away to the opposition.

I admit that I had failed, along with others who believe that the Chinese community's support could be won by the moderates within the Umno rank.

We never expect that the overwhelming majority of the Chinese community to be so committed in toppling the BN government that they were even willing to blind themselves to the bigger picture of a united Malaysian society and swallowed wholesale the lies concocted by DAP and its allies.

Now, I had reached the stage where I just pray for DS Najib to do something which will inspire me to be committed again in this struggle.

I hope the moment will come very soon and not too late.