BN’s Mahkota candidate has ‘wow factor’, say analysts

September 13, 2024

BN’s Mahkota candidate has ‘wow factor’, say analysts

PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the upcoming Mahkota state seat by-election, Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, is seen to have the “wow factor” compared to his Perikatan Nasional challenger, says an analyst.

Syed Hussien, who is the Kluang Umno Youth chief and member of the Kluang Municipal Council for Seri Impian, is being fielded to represent the unity government in the Sept 28 by-election while Haizan Jaafar of Bersatu is the contender from PN.

Analyst Syed Arabi Idid said even though both candidates are local residents, Syed Hussien may have the upper hand because of his reputation as a youth chief.

He said PN is fielding Haizan, a Kluang Bersatu committee member, because of the absence of a suitable heavyweight candidate.

“Perhaps PN does not have anyone else. BN’s candidate has a ‘wow factor’ compared to PN’s. However, this also comes down to how both parties decide to highlight their candidates,” he told FMT.

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Haizan, who now works as a football coach, is a former footballer who played under the Johor Football Association.

In announcing Haizan’s candidacy on Tuesday, PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said his discipline and closeness with the youths has made him a popular figure among the multiracial community.

Syed Arabi, however, said BN should not be over-confident and complacent with the “better candidate”.

“”PN will likely capitalise on national issues during the Mahkota by-election campaign,” he said.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said both BN and PN appear to have solid strategies in fielding local candidates.

He said PN’s decision to field a non-heavyweight candidate might be due to its awareness of the difficulty in winning the seat.

“In my opinion, Bersatu is fielding a fresh face because if they lose, they can attribute it to the fact that the candidate wasn’t a heavyweight. If a heavyweight were to lose, it would hurt Bersatu,” he said.

Bilcher Bala from Universiti Malaysia Sabah also said the PN candidate will face a tough challenge in defeating BN’s, despite both being local residents.

“The PN candidate is rather ‘ordinary’, while BN has fielded a strong contender in the form of the Kluang Umno youth chief,” he said.

The Mahkota by-election is being called following the death of the Umno assemblyman, Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.