MALACCA POLLS | For PAS, making electoral inroads in Malacca beyond its east coast base in Peninsular Malaysia has been an unattainable dream for decades.
It managed to briefly pull off the seemingly impossible in the 2013 general election when it formed an alliance with PKR and DAP under Pakatan Rakyat, capturing the relatively urbanised seat of Bukit Baru - now known as Bukit Katil.
Buoyed by a diverse support base, PAS picked up the seat – the only seat it had won in Malacca - by only 48 votes. But the seat was lost after PAS decided to go it alone in the 2018 general election and pivot to a Malay-Muslim narrative.
In most seats, PAS was not able to garner more than 15 percent of the vote share on its own but an exception was the rural coastal constituency of Serkam near the southern tip of Malacca.
Even though it did not win the BN stronghold in the last general election, it was able to muster a respectable vote share of 25.38 percent - the highest for the party in the entire state.
Umno won the seat with 6,401 votes. Amanah came in second with 3,664 votes while PAS, which was without any allies, came in a close third with 3,423 votes.
Now, PAS is doubling down on the seat which is 90 percent Malay, fielding the same candidate - 38-year-old religious teacher Ahmad Bilal Rahudin.
"I believe everyone has the chance to win, especially PAS given the last election's result.
"When I contested the Serkam seat in 2018, PAS was alone without any coalition unlike Pakatan Harapan and BN.
"But for PAS, our 3,423 votes were solid PAS votes," he told Malaysiakini.
Bilal's routine has been to leverage on the local mosque network and do rounds at the local warungs.
While face-to-face campaigning is banned during the Malacca polls, Bilal has at least made it a point to ensure his presence is felt.
Bilal believes that with Bersatu and Gerakan now on its side under the new PN coalition, he has a good shot at wresting Serkam, which has always elected a BN representative.
"If PAS can win as many votes (in Serkam) as it did in the 2018 general election, this state election will surely see PAS gaining more strength now that we are part of PN.
"If I can get around 2,000 more votes, I believe there is a good chance for us to win this time around," he said.
Internet fame
Bilal said he's committed to helping the community in Serkam solve their flooding issues, which is a common problem during high tide and heavy rain.
High tide at Pantai Siring had recently propelled the coastal village to internet fame.
A local seafood warung had to re-seat customers after parts of its premises was inundated with seawater due to high tide.
However, a short clip depicted the incident as the warung owner rebuffing ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak who was visiting the place, which went viral on social media.
The warung owner had since clarified that she did not snub the BN advisory board chairperson and expressed hurt at the edited video.
Bilal said he also hopes to make Pantai Siring more appealing to tourists and attract economic activities to the constituency.
Despite the relatively quiet constituency, it has its fair share of political heavyweights visiting the area.
Apart from Najib, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad, who is the de facto religious affairs minister, had also made a surprise visit to the area.
Umno candidate Zaidi Attan is no slouch as he is contesting in the seat for a third term, having won the two previous terms.
BN had dropped a majority of its incumbent in this state polls, but Zaid was only one of five incumbents who have been retained.
Harapan has fielded Amanah's Muhammad Khomeini Kamal, who like Bilal, is also a religious teacher.
Campaigning for the Malacca polls began on Nov 8 but was under strict restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaccans will go to the polls on Nov 20 to reflect 28 representatives to the state assembly. The contesting coalitions are seeking to win at least 15 seats to form the state government. - Mkini
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