Midway through Slim campaign, some Harapan big guns yet to fire

SLIM POLLS | Midway through the campaign for Slim, signs on the ground indicate that Umno/BN is widening the gap between its candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz and his independent rival Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi who is backed by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Pejuang.

Umno began as a clear favourite from the get-go due to its past record in the constituency and the voter demographics that are 75 percent Malay, 13 percent Indian and 10 percent Chinese.

With a week to go to polling day on Aug 29, Slim has seen intensified campaigning by BN with numerous coalition big guns making their presence felt. Early voting is set for Aug 25.

On the other hand, Amir is disadvantaged by the lack of visible support from nationally recognised leaders from the Pakatan Harapan camp.

To turn this around, Amir is going to have to pull off something special.

That said, Zaidi's (above) campaign has not been without its hiccups especially after the unease among Umno grassroots in accepting Bersatu as a Muafakat Nasional partner, which was exposed during a BN youth programme attended by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

At the event, the crowd comprising youth chiefs and members of various Umno divisions was seen booing Bersatu Youth whenever Zahid mentioned the latter in his speech.

To add salt to injury, Zahid went on to challenge Bersatu to prove its worth by getting at least 6,000 votes for Umno. He added that should Bersatu fail to do so, Umno should evaluate Bersatu's value to the alliance.

Observers noted that this was a crafty move as it is likely to be a tall order for Bersatu to do so in this by-election.

During the 2018 general election, Umno's Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib secured 8,327 votes for the win, Bersatu garnered 6,144 votes and PAS gained 4,103. There remains a strong possibility that those who voted for Bersatu then may stick with supporting Amir who is backed by Harapan and Mahathir - Bersatu’s main draw in the last polls.

Umno and PAS have earlier agreed to add Bersatu as a member in the Muafakat pact despite some opposition expressed by the likes of Umno Youth leader Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

When prompted on the Bersatu-Umno cooperation in his campaign, Zaidi, who is acting Tanjung Malim Umno chief, brushed off alleged conflicts, saying that Bersatu had expressed full support for him.

Previously, Perak Umno liaison committee chairperson Saarani Mohamad had said that the fact that Bersatu did not field a candidate in the by-election to give way to Umno was in itself a show of support.

BN urges voters to pick local candidate

In its campaign, BN has also played up the issue of Amir not being a local in Slim.

Former premier Najib Abdul Razak, who has been actively campaigning for Zaidi, had taken pains to highlight that Amir, who hails from Teluk Intan, was an outsider.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this candidate who represents atuk (Mahathir) comes from Teluk Intan. He does not know you. His place is Teluk Intan, so he should be contesting there, not here. Why does he want to contest in this by-election?

"We want a local who grew up here to represent us, a person who understands you, who won't go elsewhere. And whatever happens, he will stay here with you. This is what we want," Najib had said.

The former prime minister then went on to play his "pity me" card, claiming that he was unjustly sentenced for using SRC International funds for Umno and for orphans, and urged voters to translate their sympathy for him into votes for Zaidi.

Amir (below, in dark blue baju Melayu) has reiterated that while he is not from Slim, the constituency is close to his heart.

"In fact, our neighbour was Junus Wahid who was the Slim assemblyperson at the time," he said, referring to the late Junus who held the seat from 1986 to 2004.

He also showed his light-hearted side when he promised voters in the Slim by-election that they could pull his ears if he ignored them after being elected.

Amir has displayed some fire in calling on voters in Perak to show what they thought of the betrayal of their 2018 mandate by the political coup earlier this year.

However, thus far, only Pejuang leaders such as Mukhriz Mahathir, Maszlee Malik as well as Amanah's Khalid Samad were seen campaigning for Amir, though he has enjoyed warm support from some Perak-based PKR, DAP and Amanah leaders.

This might seem to indicate that Harapan big guns are not willing to wade into the battle under such unfavourable circumstances.

Amir would need a boost of support from heavy-weights for a turnaround in the last days of campaigning and it remains to be seen if Pejuang can successfully get sizable backing from the people, being a new party in the current political landscape.

Lest anyone forget, there is a third candidate in the fray, but independent S Santharasekaran has yet to make an impact in the campaign and can safely be tipped to lose his deposit. 

Lack of development stretches decades

The voters’ penchant for picking Umno in Slim may be called into question given the number of issues they have faced, such as electricity and running water supply and the floods which have plague Slim folk, notably the Orang Asli villagers.

In 2020, in an era when the country is headed towards Industrial Revolution 4.0, Orang Asli residents in Kampung Sungai Teras still have to source their water supply from wells, besides using generators, oil lamps, and candles to light up their houses at night.

Meanwhile, in Pekan Trolak, only about seven kilometres from Slim River town, the residents have been complaining about flash floods which have persisted for more than half a century.

Kuan Ah Song, 72, said he had witnessed floods since the 60s. "I can still remember in 1968, it was the first time when we were hit by a big flood.

"Since then, it has never been resolved. Every time it rains heavily, there will be a flash flood and it has become worse in recent years," Kuan told Malaysiakini.

In response to the report, Zaidi said the flood issue was his focus and it needed to be resolved immediately.

Voters who are weary of political defections have indicated that they don't want to vote based on political party loyalties anymore and instead will pick a candidate who will solve their immediate problems. - Mkini