PUTRAJAYA: Political analysts predicted that Barisan Nasional will win the Putrajaya parliamentary seat in the 14th General Election (GE14) based on support from civil servants.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) political analyst Associate Prof Dr Jeniri Amir said the three-cornered fight in the constituency would give an upper hand to BN as the votes will split between the opposition.
“If in GE13 BN won with big majority in the one-on-one fight, what more with the three-cornered fight.
“This will give advantage to Putrajaya incumbent Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor as the votes will split into two between the opposition, and he will win with big majority.
“BN will be able to defend Putrajaya seat as the civil servants still show their support for BN leadership which has helped a lot in protecting their welfare and well-being,” he said when contacted by NSTP.
Tengku Adnan will face PKR’s Datuk Dr Samsu Adabi Mamat, who is former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer, and Pas Putrajaya candidate Zainal Abidin Kidam who is former Universiti Selangor deputy vice-chancellor.
The total registered voters for Putrajaya parliament is 27,306 voters.
When asked his take on opposition’s move to field former lecturers and academicians as candidates, Jeniri said it was merely a political strategy to win the heart of the people in Putrajaya, who mostly work as civil servants with good academic background and high political awareness.
“The issues the opposition want to bring up in Putrajaya include recycling the national issues such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Federal Land Development Authority (Felda). Such issues involving public servants have already been addressed by BN and also through the party’s manifesto.
“Voters in Putrajaya are politically savvy people. That’s why the opposition chose former academicians as their candidates. But one must remember that Tengku Adnan has been actively working to improve the living standard of the people there,” he said.
He added that with the majority of civil servants supporting BN, there was no doubt that the party will win in Putrajaya.
“The public servants are aware of the implications if the seat falls to the opposition. Not only Putrajaya parliament is BN stronghold area, it is also a symbol for the country’s administrative capital,” he said.
In GE13, Tengku Adnan won Putrajaya parliamentary seat with 5,541 majority, defeating Pas candidate Husam Musa.