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98 Johan Saravanamuttu

A comparison of the Johor outcome with that in Kedah shows some stark
di erences in patterns of contestation and concomitant results. In complete
contrast to Johor, PAS’s presence in Kedah was highly salient, as they were the
lead party in a PR government after the 2008 general election. PAS’s strength
remained evident in Kedah in 2018 even after PR lost control of the state in
2013. is factor contributed to PH’s merely razor-thin victory in this state.
e nal distribution of seats was: PAS 15, Bersatu 5, PKR 8, Amanah 3,
UMNO 3, and DAP 2. Eventually, with exactly half the seats and a modicum
of support from PAS, PH was able to form the government. Chart 5.8 shows
the vote-share splits. What is interesting is that with Malay vote-splitting, PH
was able to capture some seats with just around 40 per cent of the popular vote,
as shown in the chart. BN wins were almost entirely con ned to constituencies
with Malay majorities of 60 per cent and above.
Two other seats UMNO won were Kasap (57 per cent Malay), by a majority
of only 877 votes, and Layang-Layang (54 per cent Malay), by a mere 364
votes (Chart 5.9). In Kedah, PAS wins were also con ned to seats with Malay
majorities of 80 per cent and above (Chart 5.10).

Vote-share Patterns on the East Coast: Terengganu and Kelantan
e east-coast states of Terengganu and Kelantan saw the collapse of UMNO
and the reassertion of PAS strength. Both states evinced the emergence of a
two-party system of PAS and UMNO with a weak third party, Amanah, which
failed to gain any seats. e result in Terengganu was 22 seats for PAS and
10 for UMNO; in Kelantan, it was 37 PAS and 8 UMNO. PAS hegemony
in Kelantan over more than two decades is evidence of an enduring strength
anchored on its Islamism, a path which often reproduces a binary politics
of ‘good’ Muslims (PAS) versus ‘bad’ Muslims (UMNO) suggesting that a
‘Manichean view of combating evil’ still animates PAS’s success in politics
(Azmil 2018: 234). e manner in which Amanah candidates were sidelined
and perceived as secondary opposition to UMNO or even irrelevant in the
two heavily Muslim-dominated states was evident in my eld visits to the two
states. However, given that Amanah candidates were former PAS stalwarts and
known personalities, they had some level of traction, which helped to reduce
the UMNO vote share and deliver landslide victories to PAS. e absence of
PAS leader and new ‘Tok Guru’ Hadi Awang in the state-level contest allowed
for the local leadership to pursue a campaign based on a theme of ‘kerajaan
teknokrat’ (technocratic government) and a ‘soft approach’ to Islamisation.
16
Hadi’s absence spoke to an underlying elite tussle between ulama and

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