By Andrew Ong, Malaysiakini

Campaigning for the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election is expected to heat up as several big names from BN and Pakatan Rakyat are expected to join the fray.

Although the by-election is billed as an important referendum on the BN takeover of Perak, the pace of the campaign has yet to live up to the expectations of many.

On BN's side, only a handful of cabinet ministers have made their way to Bukit Gantang, sans the usual 'election goodies'. The series of daily dinner gatherings connected with previous by-elections are also absent.

PAS on the other hand, have decided against their usual large-scale ceramah attended by thousands, into small ceramah kelompok in villages and residential areas.

"We are trying to cover as much ground at once. If we hold a few big ceramah, sometimes, it may be the same crowd that comes," said PAS' Zainuddin Yusof, who is Lubuk Merbau assemblyperson.

At the half-way mark, PAS candidate Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin is believed to have secured the bulk of the non-Malay votes, which makes a significant 37 percent of the total 55,400 voters.

However, Umno is reported to be gaining Malay ground after a relentless attack on Mohd Nizar for defying the Perak sultan's order to step down as menteri besar in February.

Umno's portrayal of Nizar as a DAP stooge is also believed to have caused significant damages to his image.

This has put PAS on the defensive. However, the party is expected to attack Umno over the controversial government policy on the teaching of science and maths in English during the second-half of the campaign.

Nizar would be receiving a boost in the coming days from opposition heavyweights PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and PAS spiritual advisor Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

The duo are scheduled for extensive campaigning in the rural Malay areas, particularly in the state constituency of Trong, where PAS narrowly lost in the polls last year.

"Their presence can show that Umno is united and stir nationalistic sentiments among Malays," a BN campaigner told Malaysiakini.

The weekend campaign is likely to determine the outcome of the final results. Currently, the contest is too close to call and neither party has yet to claim the upper hand.

On Thursday night, Umno deputy president and by-elections director Muhyiddin Yassin, though claiming to have sufficient Malay support, conceded a lack of support from non-Malay voters.

"Malay voters are quite easy to discuss things with. With the Chinese, we need a little more time. That is why we need to explain a bit more to them (about our policies) by meeting them directly or with their leaders," he said.

However, PAS' elections director Mustafa Ali believes that Malay support for Mohd Nizar is fairly even but is confident that he has the bulk of non-Malay votes.

"In terms of Malay votes, we were trailing before, but now it is 50-50. God willing, on April 7, we'll have more than them," he told reporters.

Malaysiakini . 2009.04.04