Outgunned in Larkin, Muda man turns to 'working class' campaign

 

JOHOR POLLS | From flipping burgers to being 'grilled' by the media and voters, Muda's Larkin candidate, Rasid Abu Bakar, appears to be equally adept at avoiding getting burnt.

Unlike other Muda candidates whose campaigns have received assistance from Pakatan Harapan parties, Rasid's (above) team has largely gone solo with backing from a team of volunteers.

This was after his candidacy further soured Muda's relationship within PKR as the youth-led party was accused of "crashing" PKR.

Unlike Muda's successful negotiations with Amanah and the DAP, which saw Harapan making way for the party in six seats, the talks with PKR collapsed.

Amanah and the DAP, although friendly with Muda, have pledged to back their coalition partner PKR over Muda in Larkin.

Outgunned with limited allied support, Rasid has pulled all the stops for his election campaign, even if it means trying a little too hard sometimes.

Rasid's attempts to introduce himself has involved selling RM1 burgers with Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman last Sunday night, making roti canai, and selling vegetables across Larkin aside from more conventional walkabout.

Muda’s Larkin candidate Rasid Abu Bakar flipping burgers

With his tagline ‘Rasid Bekerja’, the 28-year-old Larkin native is proud of his own working-class roots that he believes reflects the experiences faced by most of the 76,079 voters in the constituency.

The voters in the constituency have increased by around 35 percent from 56,289 after the implementation of automatic voter registration and the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18.

Rasid's opponents include Perikatan Nasional's Zulkifli Bujang who is a former news anchor and political secretary, PKR's Dr Zamil Najwah Arbain who is a medical doctor and BN's Mohd Hairi Mad Shah who graduated from Universiti Teknologi Mara with a background in business and marketing.

The S'pore migrant life

In contrast, Rasid is an STPM graduate but believes in the strength of "live experiences".

"To be honest, I have never felt embarrassed by my level of education. What is most important, we must move forward.

"When we talk about education background, we also have experiential learning or learning from experiences," he told Malaysiakini.

"I am 28-years-old, but I have been working professionally for 10 years," said Rasid.

During his childhood, Rasid said he also helped his parents to sell satay at their restaurant in Bukit Cagar.

After finishing high school, Rasid spent several years working various retail jobs including a stint in Singapore, like thousands of other Malaysians including those currently affected by border closures.

"For almost a year, I woke up at 3am to take the bus and I will reach Singapore between 6am and 7am, I take the MRT, I start work at 9am and finish at 9pm.

"I reach home by midnight, I wake up again at 3am and the cycle continues. With one day off a week, I will spend the whole day sleeping to recover from a week's work," said Rasid.

He said these experiences allowed him to understand the realities faced by many youths from working-class families in Larkin and the greater Johor Bahru area.

Climbing up the ladder, Rasid said his last position was as a retail operations manager at the Johor Bahru office of an international sporting goods brand.

Muda calling

However, with Muda coming onto the scene, Rasid resigned from his job to focus on community work.

"What have I learnt? If we were to look closely at problems among the working class, we can see that the job market is largely not conducive and not competitive.

"I have seen retail workers at the mall, they start work at 9am and finish at 10pm, but yet they can't even afford to have lunch at the mall.

"This is the sad reality and for me, to be a people's representative, we must understand what they are going through, how they feel," he said.

Rasid expressed hope that his knowledge in the digital economy, marketplace, marketing, merchandising, cost management and retail operations could benefit small local businesses through formal or informal sharings.

While Rasid faces an uphill battle, his message has resonated with some voters.

"I have a similar experience with him. I worked in Singapore, and I think there is nothing wrong with sharing what we have with others.

"I felt like I had to ask him, what his targets are if given a chance to be elected," said 33-year-old Larkin voter Rosillah Nor Ahmad.

Rosilah was a senior technician with a Singaporean firm but is now working from home in Larkin since the border closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

From small traders to larger commercial premises, income from Malaysians working in Singapore and Singaporeans making their weekend shopping trips supported a significant part of Johor's economy, particularly in Johor Bahru.

Larkin is one of two state seats under the Johor Bahru parliament, the other being Stulang, where many high rise buildings offer unobstructed views straight across the causeway to Singapore.

Harapan candidates for six seats in Southern Johor have in the first week of campaigning called for an immediate reopening of the border with Singapore, citing impacts to property sales, job opportunities, family income and others.

However, the move has been delayed, raising complaints if the Umno-led federal government was trying to discourage Malaysians working in Singapore from returning to vote.

Apart from BN, PN, PKR and Muda, other contenders in Larkin include Pejuang's Mohamad Riadz Mohamad Hashim and independent candidate Norramadan Buan.

Campaigning for the state polls kicked off on Feb 26. Johoreans will go to the polls on March 12. - Mkini