Titiwangsa: A fight for the urban Malays

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall estimates the land value of Kampung Baru to be over RM20 billion if the residents accept the development plans completely. – File pic 


The next general election is expected to be the closest fight to form the new Malaysian government. And several seats across the nation are likely to be heated battles with the slimmest of majorities. The Malaysian Insider takes a look at some of these hot seats in what will be an intense election for control of Malaysia. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 – Out of the 11 Parliamentary seats in the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory area, Titiwangsa is the one with the highest number of Malay voters.

After all, within this constituency is Kampung Baru, a more than 100-year-old kampung that still remains quite traditional even though it is situated almost in the shadow of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. 

With a 67 per cent Malay majority, Titiwangsa could be said to be the bastion of the urban Malays and the upcoming general election will show whether the urban Malay support still lies with Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat.

Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali

The seat was last won by PAS’ Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali who defeated BN candidate Datuk Aziz Jamaluddin Tahir with a 1,972 vote majority, but it has been left empty for 17 months following Dr Lo’ Lo’s death from cancer on July 17 last year.

Going into the 13th general election, PAS looks like it may have an edge as the late Dr Lo’ Lo’ was a hardworking MP and popular with her constituents.

“She was a wonderful MP, and I believe that the people of Kampung Baru will always remember her contributions,” said taxi driver Omar Abdullah, 57, who is from Kampung Baru.

“And this is also a challenge for PAS to choose a candidate who is as good as Dr Lo’ Lo, to ensure the welfare of the Titiwangsa residents, especially Kampung Baru, is taken care of.

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The talk is that PAS will pick Abdullah Abdul Wahab to run for the seat as he took over managing Titiwangsa from the late Dr Lo’ Lo’ and is liked by the constituents.

Known popularly as Ustaz Lah, the former soldier who retired with the rank of Major is also the Titiwangsa PAS division chief.
 
But his is not the only name mentioned as a likely candidate.

There is also Ahmad Zamri As’sad who sits in a special committee PAS set up to look into the affairs of Titiwangsa after the death of Dr Lo’ Lo’.

Ahmad Zamri has quite a high profile within the party as he is also chairman of the party’s legal and human rights department as well as chairman of the Kampung Baru Development Secretariat. 

Whoever the candidate picked, it looks like the late Dr Lo’ Lo’s legacy is something they hope will give them a boost at the polls.

Even so, Titiwangsa has long been a BN stronghold.

The 2008 election result was particularly shocking as it was the first time ever the seat fell to an Opposition candidate.

Datuk Aziz Jamaluddin Tahir

If you take a drive around the constituency, you will see lots of banners and posters with the picture of Umno Titiwangsa division chief Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

He is touted to be the man who will lead the challenge to win back Titiwangsa for BN.

Johari, 48, is not unfamiliar to Titiwangsa residents as he was the election director for Titiwangsa in 1999, 2004 and 2008.

He took the position of division head after the resignation of his predecessor Datuk Suleiman Abdullah in June 2010. 

“Johari is an active person who goes down to the ground, a hard worker who is always ready to hear the people’s woes. Even so we will leave the decision to the main leadership,” said a Desa Pandan Umno branch member.

Although Johari seems to be the front runner when it comes to being picked as Umno candidate,  Aziz is also a possible candidate.

Aziz is a Kampung Baru boy whose father was once the imam at the Kampung Baru mosque.

Aziz is said to be close to the prime minister as he once worked as Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s principal secretary at the Ministry of Defence.

So, can the legacy of a dead MP or the heritage of Umno and what it used to mean to the people in the consituency swing it for whoever is picked to run for their respective parties?

Nobody can say at this point.

One of the hot issues in Titiwangsa is the development of Kampung Baru. It is here that the Sultan Sulaiman Club is located, where Malay protests against the Malayan Union were held. The kampung spans 90.2 hectares of land, making it as big as Monaco, with 10,000 voters concentrated in their area, a majority of them Malay. 

Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani

Early this year, the land in Kampung Baru was valued to RM350 per square foot while neighbouring areas like Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) are worth more than RM2,000 per square foot.

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) estimates the land value of the area to be over RM20 billion if the residents accept the development plans completely.

The draft for the Kampung Baru redevelopment laws was approved last year, but was rejected by the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin.

Titiwangsa PAS Youth head Suhaimi Abdul Aziz is confident Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will retain the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat, saying that PAS has a leadership capable of working together collectively, not just as individuals.

“We from Titiwangsa PAS believe we can maintain this seat, because of the urban residents. They are information savvy and most of the voters voted in 2008 as well,” he said.
 
Suhaimi acknowledged that there are many local issues in the area, but refused to elaborate. 

“It is our weapon, so we will only reveal it once Parliament is dissolved,” added Suhaimi.

However, Umno is also confident that the party has regained the confidence of Titiwangsa voters for the upcoming general elections.

“We believe Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s transformation plan has been accepted by the people, and voters in Titiwangsa will return to supporting UMNO,” said Titiwangsa UMNO Youth head Idham Yasser.