KUALA TERENGGANU - ELECTION fever seems barely discernible in Kuala Terengganu, but head for the nearby villages. As the town fades in the distance, flags start to appear along the road.

It is evident that much of the Kuala Terengganu by-election war is being fought in the Malay villages, as 88 per cent of the 80,299 voters are Malay.

But the media focus so far has been on the Chinese voters, who comprise about 11 per cent of the total. This is because the Malay electorate is believed to be split between Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and Umno. PAS has a slight edge.

Nevertheless, the Malay parties are acutely aware that they cannot neglect the Malay votes. 'Not at all,' said PAS research centre chief Dzulkefly Ahmad, part of the party's electoral strategy team.

This, he said, would be akin to the Malay saying that warns against chasing a dream, only to lose what is already in hand.

The by-election for Kuala Terengganu was called after its Umno MP died in November last year. PAS candidate Abdul Wahid Endut is up against Umno's Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and an independent. Polling is next Saturday.

It has been touted as a major test of support for either side. The Chinese vote will be crucial if the Malays are equally split. But if the Malay vote tips heavily to either side, the Chinese vote will be irrelevant.

Both sides are carrying out a delicately balanced campaign - to woo the Chinese while not alienating the Malays.

The strong emphasis on Chinese votes had been said to have made some Malay voters unhappy. In particular, opposition MP Lim Kit Siang's statement that the Chinese are the kingmakers has upset some Malays. This implies that the Malays have to give in to Chinese wishes.

Former premier Mahathir Mohamad, in his blog two days ago, said PAS had forgone its principles. He picked on the issue of PAS allowing pig farming near Malay villages without taking into account Malay sensitivities. He also pointed out that PAS has been silent on its plans to introduce the Islamic penal code, or hudud.

'All this shows that PAS is not a principled party, or sincere in promoting Islam. It is willing to bend backwards for political interests,' Tun Dr Mahathir wrote.

While hudud is not a major election issue in Kuala Terengganu, PAS is still in a spot, as veteran Democratic Action Party leader Karpal Singh refuses to drop the topic.

Deputy Premier Najib Razak yesterday jumped into the fray. 'It is clear that they (the opposition) don't have a common stand; it is a very loose coalition which is interested only in toppling the Barisan Nasional (BN) government,' he said.

It is not certain how far the issue will affect the Malay vote. Although the community is largely polarised into Umno or PAS, it has been reported that about 20per cent of them are fence-sitters.

Dr Dzulkefly of PAS said it was still a neck-and-neck fight. But Minister of International Trade and Industry Muhyiddin Yassin, who has been campaigning from Day One, said: 'There is a new euphoria among them, wanting to come back.'

The Malay vote will become more crucial if the Chinese turnout is low, given that polling is just a week before Chinese New Year. And a low turnout is bad news for the BN. According to a study, a mere 3 per cent drop in Malay turnout will erase 1,500 BN votes if Malay support stays the same as in March last year.

The BN won the seat by 628 votes.

The campaign among the Malays has been low-key. Both sides are competing to show how friendly and humble their candidates are. Prihatin, mesra and cakna - different words meaning caring - were the keywords on the BN billboards.

carolynh@sph.com.sg