Background
The incumbent, Tengku Paris, died in December 2006. He had won the seat in the 2004 general election, defeating PAS candidate Mohamed Nilam Abdul Manap with 5,414 to 2,653 votes. As of nomination day for the by-election, the constituency had 10,511 registered voters, with an ethnic composition of 73% Malay, 14% Chinese, and 13% Indian or Orang Asli. There were a total of 14 registered postal voters. [1]
Orang Asli are the indigenous people and the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. Officially, there are 18 Orang Asli tribes, categorised under three main groups according to their different languages and customs:
Batu Talam thus became the only constituency in Malaysia to have had more than one by-election. The first was held after the 1993 death of Mazlan Idris, who was murdered by the "bomoh" (witch doctor) Mona Fandey. [1]
By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.
A bomoh is a Malay shaman and traditional medicine practitioner. The term is used mainly in Malaysia and parts of Sumatra, whereas most Indonesians use the word dukun. It is often mistranslated into English as medicine man or witch doctor. In colloquial usage, the term bomoh is often interchangeable with another type of shaman, the pawang, but they generally serve different functions. The bomoh is primarily a healer, herbalist, geomancer, and sorcerer. The pawang on the other hand usually specialises in rituals involving weather, nature, animals, and a good harvest. Their roles do overlap however, and both act as an intermediary for the spirits and gods.
Nur Maznah Binti Ismail, better known as Mona Fandey, was a pop singer and a murderer from Malaysia. She was executed on 3 November 2001 at the age of 45, after being convicted of the murder of a politician, Mazlan Idris, in 1993.
PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) of the opposition Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) declined to field a candidate for the by-election, citing irregularities in the electoral roll and other alleged "dirty tactics" meant to favour the government. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) also stated that it was not interested in participating. [2]
The Barisan Alternatif was a coalition of Malaysian opposition parties, formed as a counterweight to the ruling Barisan Nasional. Disbanded after the 2004 general elections, all 4 former component parties of BA have formed a new coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, following the 2008 general elections.
Nominations
Despite initial appearances of a government walkover on nomination day, Ng Chee Pang filed to contest the seat as an independent candidate. His candidacy was the subject of much interest, as although the DAP had claimed it did not intend to participate, Ng was the son of DAP Pahang treasurer Ng Kwi Ling. Ng Kwi Ling and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng both denied allegations that Ng was a secret DAP candidate, insisting that the DAP would not campaign for him. However, state DAP leader Lee Tuck Chee said that although the DAP would not campaign for Ng, the party would open an operations base in Cheroh, a town with a high concentration of Chinese voters. [1] [2]
Lim Guan Eng is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) currently serving as the Minister of Finance of Malaysia, three-term Member of Parliament (MP) and three-term assemblyman (MLA) representing Bagan and Air Putih respectively. Being the Secretary-General of DAP since 2004, he also served as the Chief Minister of Penang between 2008 and 2018.
Najib Tun Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, suggested that Ng was "supported by the opposition. They claim they are boycotting the by-election but they have instructed support for the independent candidate". Pahang Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth Chief Liow Tiong Lai told the press that the move was a ploy to attract support from a broad spectrum of opposition voters, as although PAS supporters would not vote for a DAP candidate and vice versa, both sides would have no issues with voting for an independent candidate. [1]
Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai is a Malaysian politician who had served in the Cabinet of Malaysia as Minister of Transport from 27 June 2014 to 10 May 2018. Previously he was Minister of Health from 18 March 2008 to 5 May 2013. He was President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a major component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) previous ruling coalition, from 2013 to 2018, and was the Member of Parliament for Bentong, Pahang, from 1999 to 2018.
Ng stated that his motivation for contesting the election was "to follow in the footsteps of my father" and "fulfil his ambition of winning an election" — Ng Kwi Ling had contested in six general elections since 1982, losing in all of them. [3] Ng, a 22-year-old businessman, also said that he intended to help petty traders like himself if he won. [1]
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