ANALYSIS Keeping a low profile in a by-election campaign is, traditionally, believed to work in favour of the incumbent’s party because of the notion that voters are likely to maintain the status quo.

However, the MCA is doing quite the opposite in the Tenang by-election in its bid to help the BN surpass the 5,500 majority the coalition secured in the 2004 general election.

chua soi lek tenang moral uplifting society 240111 Directed by party president Dr Chua Soi Lek, MCA has launched a blitzkrieg on PAS’ Islamic state agenda and candidate Normala Sudirman’s refusal to shake hands with male voters.

This has received heavy coverage in the Chinese media over the past two days, and is a hot topic in Tenang coffeeshops.

Chua raised the ‘hand shake’ issue when visiting a Buddhist temple last Thursday, citing this as an example of how voting for PAS would lead to Malaysia becoming an Islamic state.

However, a random survey among Chinese voters showed that most of them did not buy Chua’s argument, They were, instead, critical of MCA for raising a “petty” issue.

Chua has also been criticised by several Muslim groups and Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria, who have accused him of insulting Islam and called on him to make a public apology.

The tenang by election day 1 230111 normala in cheongsam poster impact of the ‘hand shake’ row is now spreading, judging from adverse comments about MCA on social networking website Facebook and micro-blogging website Twitter .

In view of possible problems, BN deputy head Muhyiddin Yassin has told MCA to stop “exploiting” the ‘hand shake’ decision, which is a personal one by Normala (above) .

What may seem to be a mere slap on the wrist by Muhyiddin will most likely be harped on by the opposition as a "huge loss of face" for Chua.

azlan On the Islamic state agenda, MCA is riding on an issue that has been flogged to death the past 10 years, so much so that many non-Muslims are fed up of the issue.

After all, many still remember then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad declaring in September 2001 that Malaysia is already an Islamic state.

Despite the wide array of issues that can be exploited, MCA has limited its scope in the Tenang campaign. It is not making efficient use of its campaign machinery, proven to be the most efficient among BN parties in previous by-elections.

The party's leaflets and newsletters are published daily, complete with daily newspaper clippings. Full-time canvassers, armed with iPad tablet computers, have also been deployed by the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Chua’s reputation at stake

One possible explanation for MCA’s aggressive campaign in Tenang is that Chua is a major personality.

He spent 14 years in the Johor cabinet and was the MP for the area, a post now assumed by his son. Losing Tenang, or even seeing a reduction in Chinese votes for BN, will be unacceptable.

Many Chinese voters Malaysiakini spoke to gave high marks to Chua’s leadership and his ability to deliver, but this is not the main message in MCA’s campaign materials.

The appearance of the tenang by election 23011 1malaysia group goodies mysterious 1Malaysia ‘NGO’ with goodies in Labis may also be an indicator that reinforcement is needed to woo Chinese voters.

If MCA manages to woo back more Chinese voters with the help of this 1Malaysia NGO, as was done in Galas, it would still be an embarrassment to the party and to Chua because it shows that both have lost their charm in their own stronghold.

The 5,617 Chinese voters make up 38.6 percent of the Tenang electorate. All the Chinese-predominant polling districts - Bandar Labis Timur, Bandar Labis Tengah and Labis - were won by PAS in the 2008 general election.