For Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the main weapons of his arch-nemesis Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the upcoming 14th general election are money and goodies, which the nonagenarian disparagingly refers to as 'dedak' (animal feed).
When Najib announced a RM1.3 billion allocation for Langkawi, Mahathir claimed it was in response to speculation that he would contest there.
According to the Pakatan Harapan chairperson, such tactics are an attempt to buy votes for the ruling BN coalition.
"He thinks cash is king... He thinks the Malays can be bought with money," Mahathir said at a ceramah at Felda Chini, Pekan on Wednesday night.
But for some residents in Pekan, Najib's hometown and constituency in Pahang, Mahathir's remarks against the prime minister are not welcome.
"It’s hurtful when he says our votes are being bought," Abu Bakar Ibrahim, 57, told Malaysiakini.
His friend Zainal Abidin, 48, chimed in, arguing that it is normal for prime minister to bring about development.
"Whoever is prime minister, they would focus on their own area. Just like when Mahathir in the past focused on developing Langkawi," Zainal said.
Pekan has seen much growth since Najib took over as prime minister.
While the city centre is not exactly a metropolitan area, it has seen a flurry of projects such as a new district police headquarters that opened in late 2016.
A 10-minute drive away in the industrial part of Pekan town, there is a Rural Transformation Centre, launched in 2013, as well as the DRB-Hicom University of Automotive Malaysia campus which churns out graduates to serve the car factories in the area, including one owned by Mercedes-Benz.
Over in Felda Chini, about an hour away, Pekan Umno committee member Abdul Rahim Yahya said multiple community halls were opened earlier this year, while roadworks to expand the single lane road from Pekan is underway and expected to be completed next year.
Not all positive
Such development projects have contributed to Najib's popularity in Pekan, and it is one of the reasons his majorityhas grown significantly over the past three elections.
In 2013, he won with a majority of more than 35,000 votes compared to a majority of around 26,000 votes in 2008 and 23,000 in 2004. This is a far cry from the shock result where he won by a tissue-thin majority of 200 votes at the 1999 general elections.
But it’s not all positive in Pekan.
Residents in the area claim that cost of living in the small royal town is high, with one respondent, Rohani Abdullah (photo), saying its equal to that of a big city.
Rohani, a mother of six, also revealed that wages in Pekan are stagnant and low, with the basic salary for factory workers like her eldest son at only RM1,000.
Even then, Rohani and some other Pekan residents feel that Najib is not to blame for the rising costs.
However, others alienated by the rising costs believe that the opposition has a chance of winning Pekan this year, or at least slash Najib's majority. -Mkini
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