PARTI Keadilan Rakyat leaders appear to be a little worried about the latest turn of events as they gear up for the Permatang Pauh by-election on Aug 26.

This is despite the odds still in favour of its supremo, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, winning it and even though some Umno leaders have noted that it would be an achievement if Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah could reduce the 13,398-vote majority secured by Anwar's wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, when she won the seat on March 8.

The uncertainty now is how Malay voters, who comprise the bulk of the Permatang Pauh electorate (69.4 per cent), would react to Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's swearing on the Quran that he had been sodomised by Anwar.

Things do not seem to be working to PKR's advantage following findings from the party's recent survey to gauge voters' opinions on Mohd Saiful's act of swearing on Friday at the Federal Territory mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

When 227 voters in the constituency were asked whether they thought Anwar should also swear on the Quran to prove his innocence, 45 per cent, mostly housewives and those above 50, felt that he should, to prove his innocence.
This is something Anwar has refused to do, claiming it is not a requirement in Islam. But voter perceptions can swing votes, especially among fence-sitters and it is cause for worry for PKR.

The term "junjung Quran", as the act of swearing on the Quran is often referred to in Malay society, is culturally considered sacred.

It is certainly no trivial matter as a person who is willing to swear in such manner is almost certain to be accepted as the innocent party.

Furthermore, older voters and housewives are generally deprived of campaign messages through SMSes and the Internet, both of which are PKR's important campaign tools.

"So we have resorted to reaching out to them through kuliyah maghrib (religious talk before or after dusk prayers), small group ceramah and distribution of leaflets," says party strategist Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

More than 20,000 leaflets explaining the Islamic Qazaf law -- a complaint to request a probe into "false allegations" pertaining to adultery and sexual misconduct, which Anwar had lodged with the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) following Mohd Saiful's sodomy allegation, are being distributed.

In addition, PKR anticipates that voters may be complacent because of Dr Wan Azizah's high-majority margin in March. They may not turn up to cast their votes this time.

"Losing a couple of hundred votes is a big thing to us. It is the other way round for BN, a small margin is already considered an achievement," says PKR information chief Tian Chua.

Fear of voters' complacency is real as polling is on a working day and outstation voters may not return to vote.

Against this backdrop, PKR has intensified its door-to-door campaign. However, they will find it an uphill task to match Umno's time-tested "pintu 10" concept to garner support, where each person or a group is tasked to tackle 10 households.