KUALA LUMPUR: Analysts have urged the authorities to seriously review the election results of both state and parliamentary seats in Terengganu following two court decisions annulling Pas victory in the 15th General Election (GE15).
The latest outcome should also form the basis of a review of election results in seats that Perikatan Nasional had won with small majorities, including in Melaka and Selangor.
Political analyst Dr Ainul Adzellie Hasnul told the New Straits Times that the court decisions for Kuala Terengganu
in June and Kemaman on Tuesday had cast doubts on the "super-majority" wins by Pas and PN in state and parliamentary seats.
"If bribery did happen in Kuala Terengganu and Kemaman, it might have happened in other seats as well.
"This warrants the authorities looking into the results in other seats that the coalition won, especially seats it clinched with small majorities in Terengganu."
Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya agreed with Ainul that some election results should be reviewed following the recent court decisions.
He said the court decisions had dented the image and credibility of Pas and its candidates.
However, he admitted that there would not be any other effect other than tarnished credibility.
He said this was because Pas' hardcore supporters would still believe in the party, even though its candidates were found to have committed corruption in the general election.
He said the election court decision should pave the way for the authorities to look at other seats the party won, not just those in Terengganu.
"This should be used as a basis to relook at all results, especially seats won with smaller majorities, including in Melaka and Selangor."
On June 27, the Terengganu Election Court annulled the victory of Kuala Terengganu member of parliament Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim, who represented Pas in GE15.
Judge Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril said the petitioner, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Mohd Zubir Embong, succeeded in proving that corruption had taken place with the aim of influencing voters in GE15.
Among the points raised in the petition were allegations that Pas had bribed voters by distributing financial aid from the state government through the i-Pencen, i-Belia and i-Siswa initiatives between Nov 15 and 17, 2022, a few days before GE15.
On Tuesday, the Terengganu Election Court again annulled Pas' victory, this time for the Kemaman parliamentary seat, which its candidate Che Alias Hamid won in GE15.
Judge Datuk Anselm Charles Fernandis said the petitioner, voter Wan Mohamad Hisham Wan Abdul Jalil, succeeded in proving that corruption had taken place with the aim of influencing voters in GE15.
In that case, the election court had ruled that there was an element of bribery at several official state government events through the i-Belia and i-Siswa assistance funds that were distributed to voters during the GE15 campaign period.
Terengganu Umno had initially filed petitions against the GE15 results in Marang, Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu on Jan 15.
Out of the three seats, the Terengganu Election Court only upheld Pas' victory in Marang, which was won by party president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang in GE15.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan said both court decisions shed light on Pas' efforts to camouflage their acts of generosity by claiming the bribes were sedekah (charity).
He said the people's perceptions would change with these court decisions because it was proven in court that Pas committed bribery during elections.
However, Azmi agreed with Awang Azman that the court decisions would not sway Pas supporters' support for the party as they would continue to consider the acts mentioned in the court cases as charity and not corruption.
"This shows that Pas was willing to use religion to win votes.
"Pakatan Harapan and BN should use this as ammunition for the Pelangai by-election."
However, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Razak Faculty Perdana Centre head of research Dr Mazlan Ali said the court decision would erode Pas' support base.
He said the court outcome would influence up to 40 per cent of the "fence-sitter" segment of the party's supporters, who were aware that such court decisions carried a lot of weight.
He said as a party that aims to uphold Islam, Pas should not have resorted to corruption to win votes.
Mazlan said this would have a negative effect on Pas because all this while the party's leaders had rejected claims of bribery during elections and described such allegations as hearsay, politically motivated attacks or even slander.
He said voters would now start to cast doubts on the party and this would work as an advantage for their political opponents.
"The unity government's component parties will use this as political points against Pas to criticise them for resorting to money politics.
"But do look out for the Masjid Tanah seat (election court) decision as well," he said, referring to the Oct 27 date set by the Melaka Election Court to deliver its decision on a petition filed to challenge the GE15 result for the Masjid Tanah parliamentary seat.