Universiti Malaya associate professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi said Najib is just too strong for both Anina and Ezam, whose political influence and machinery are nothing compared with the prime minister’s.
“Anina is still new in the political scene and he’s just too big for her to take on. She’s better off going against the Puteri Umno chief (Mas Ermieyati Samsudin).
“Ezam, on the other hand, has potential. But his image as someone who keeps jumping from one party to another puts his credibility at stake.
“He’s also seen as someone who isn’t aggressive, especially in the campaign against Najib,” he said.
Between the two though, Ezam may appear to be more suitable to represent the opposition in the Pekan seat as he has more experience in politics, said Awang Azman.
But the best person to take on Najib would be former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. But Anwar is still serving his sentence for sodomising his former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and the opposition has almost no chance at taking over Najib’s seat, added Awang Azman.
“We must admit that it is difficult to find someone strong enough to take on Najib in Pekan as he has strong influence there.
“His campaign machinery is among the strongest, especially as he is the president of Umno and the prime minister.”
Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) deputy chairman and chief executive Prof Mohammad Redzuan Othman echoed the same sentiment.
He said the redelineation exercise in 2003 had helped Najib win big in Pekan. As the constituency also has a huge number of army and Felda voters, “anyone who contests against Najib will surely lose”.
Anina, the former Umno member who has become a familiar name, told FMT yesterday morning that she wants take on the prime minister in his parliamentary stronghold of Pekan.
The co-founder of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) has been actively promoting her candidacy for the Pekan seat, with her latest posting on her Facebook account being a poll asking her followers if they agree with her plan.
“Anda setuju?” (“Do you agree?”), she asked on the social media account last night(Saturday night), accompanied by a poster depicting her up against Najib.
Ezam, a former senator and who was communications director at the finance ministry, had also earlier expressed his intention to contest the Pekan seat.