7 Apr 2009

Zainuddin Muhammad

KUALA TERENGGANU: Pas candidate Datuk Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is the favourite to win the Batu Gantang parliamentary seat in today's by-election - at least from the perspective of local bookmakers.

But Barisan Nasional's Ismail Saffian is still in with a shout as the 5,000 votes handicap given to Nizar on nomination day has been cut to just 2,000, said a local bookie who only wanted to be known as Mr T.

He said the handicap had been steadily reduced, especially after Datuk Seri Najib Razak was appointed prime minister.

"The new prime minister must have said something that the public wanted to hear as more and more punters were willing to part with their hard-earned money to back the underdog," Mr T said.

He said punters here were not interested in the other two by-elections in Bukit Selambau, Kedah and Batang Ai, Sarawak. "As far as we are concerned, Bukit Gantang is the main event in the triple by-elections as not many have enquired about the other two. "Except for some novelty bets, like the number of candidates who will lose their deposits in Kedah, most bookies here have decided not to offer bets on Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai."

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