BN turns to Najib’s ‘star power’ in Sg Kandis

SG KANDIS POLLS | In the heart of the Klang-Shah Alam urban sprawl lies a tiny oasis called Kampung Sungai Kandis, a Malay village with some 500 homes surrounded by greenery.

Yesterday, the normally quiet village was a hive of activity as they had a VVIP visitor in the form of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Najib was on the stump for Lokman Noor Adam, BN’s candidate for the Sungai Kandis by-election.

Kota Raja Umno division communications head Salina Mohd Ali said that this was the first time Najib had ever visited the village and the instructions by the party headquarters to facilitate the event was received at the eleventh hour.

"We were informed just a day before. I was so busy preparing for the event that I misread the message.

"The instruction was to don 'baju pilihan raya' (elections uniform), but I mistook it for 'baju raya' (Hari Raya clothes)," said Salina in jest while pointing to her bright red baju kurung.

Her job was to arrange for Najib's visit to ten houses, accompanied by Lokman.

This was a marked contrast to the grandiose rallies and gallant speeches which characterised most of Najib's campaign activities for the May 9 general elections.  

‘Vote for BN’

The houses were handpicked by the Umno activists and the inhabitants all seemed thrilled to host Najib in their living room, even if just for a fleeting moment.

Najib's repertoire revolved around small talk and observations before delivering the final close: "Remember to vote for BN."

Despite BN's unprecedented election losses on May 9 often being attributed to Najib, Kota Raja Umno believed that his presence in the village would give Lokman's campaign a boost, even among PAS supporters.

Most of the locals whom Malaysiakini approached were not so sure.

Clerical worker Pushpa Rani, 27, had dropped by to witness Najib and his entourage while on the way to work. She remarked that the former premier looked different now than when he was in power.

"He looked like a normal yet distant person," the Sungai Kandis voter told Malaysiakini, while expressing doubts that Najib's new down-to-earth persona would sway voters.

"The people who live here are mostly Pakatan Harapan or PAS supporters."

She pointed out that Najib's daughter Nooryana Najwa was also part of the entourage with her Kazakhstani husband Daniyar Kesikbayev in tow.

However, the sight of the couple triggered Pushpa's memories about their opulent wedding ceremony back in 2015.

Uphill battle for BN

During his tour of the village, Najib came across a small sundry shop. Shop owner Ahnad Rafi'e Sulaiman welcomed him and the duo took a photograph together.

"I was shocked because before that I only see him on TV... This is the first time he has been here, but he is already a former prime minister.

"It would have been better if he dropped by when he was still in power," said 33-year-old Ahnad (photo).

Ahnad said he has been trading for the past five years and believed that most of the villagers are Harapan supporters, making it difficult for BN to make inroads.

Salina, who is in charge of BN's social media campaign, said she was aware that BN was the underdog in this race.

"We aim to narrow the majority. Winning would be difficult," she said.

She said that vote canvassers are reporting that the body language and attitudes shown by voters have shifted.

"Last time they will greet you. I am close to them and it has been many years working with them, but now is totally different. They will just walk away, as they already switched to Harapan," she said.

Veteran Umno activist Musalis Abdullah (photo), 60, was more of an optimist and believed that the key to success was educating the younger voters on Umno and BN's contribution to the village and constituency.

He said that the previous Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad - who is now the leader of the new ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan - had visited Kampung Sungai Kandis before and the party has played a major role in developing the village.

"I am grateful for Najib's visit. (Umno) has a deep-rooted history in this village, but youngsters don't know about it. Umno has helped the locals a lot. The party has helped the tahfiz school and the mosque," he said.

"We can win. The number of votes we can garner will rise again." -Mkini