As expected, PAS candidate Mohd Salleh Man won the Permatang Pasir by-election. With a lower turnout of only 73.1%, he defeated BN's Rohaizat Othman with a majority of 4,551 votes, or a support rate in excess of 65%.

After Najib took over as the country's new PM and implemented an array of reforms in his first 100 days in office, the by-election in Permatang Pasir is seen as a litmus test for the public acceptance of BN as well as the continued support for Pakatan.

During the by-election in Manek Urai last month, PAS only managed to cling on to its long-time fortress with a heavily trimmed majority of 65 votes, allowing BN to see a ray of hope for a return of voters' favour.

As a result, the ruling coalition sent new blood Rohaizat to confront PAS' Penang chairman Salleh in Permatang Pasir, with the hope of recapturing the state constituency it had lost during the previous three elections.

However, BN has met one setback after another ever since its candidate was announced.

UMNO Permatang Pauh division chairman Datuk Abdul Jalil Abd Majid insisted to field Rohaizat, who has been plagued by a number of unfavourable charges. With Pakatan hitting hard at Rohaizat's questionable qualities for candidature, BN has been unable to turn the tide around since the very beginning of the battle.

The choice of candidate has highlighted UMNO's internal contradictions. Even though senior leaders of the ruling coalition have stood solidly behind their candidate, owing to lack of cohesiveness within the camp, lukewarm fighting spirit and disunity among its component parties, along with ageing development card, the voters in Permatang Pasir have been least impressed.

Over to the Pakatan camp. With only a 50-50 chance in mind since the beginning, the three component parties in the opposition pact have worked very hard to woo voters, focusing on nothing but "people-centric" strategies.

Other than banging hard at BN's inadequecies, its leaders have also approached the voters in a subdued profile so as to offset its deficiency in administrative experiences.

Two days prior to the polling, the withdrawal of Lunas state assemblyman Mohd Radzhi Salleh from PKR was thought to leave some impact on the outcome of the by-election. However, the issue sedimented very fast and did not do much favour to BN or rock Pakatan's solid foundation.

Vis-à-vis the general elections last March, the working models in the two elections in Permatang Pasir have been very similar, attesting to the fact that voters remain loyal to the Pakatan state government after a lapse of one and a half years.

A total of eight by-elections have so far been held since the last general elections, including one parliamentary and two state constituencies in Permatang Pauh.

Save for the Batang Ai state seat in Sarawak, BN has lost all seven by-elections on the Peninsula.

Permatang Pasir is not yet a battle for BN to turn the table around. It needs to work a lot harder to win back the voters' hearts. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)