When it comes to winning parliamentary seats, looks alone won’t cut it, stressed actor Hans Isaac, whose heartthrob status was said to give him an edge if he is fielded by PKR in Ampang.
PKR-linked group Persatuan Kebangkitan Usaha Angkat Suara Awam, otherwise known as Kuasa, is citing the actor as a potential candidate for the hot seat of Ampang.
When asked if he’ll use his good looks to his alleged candidacy’s favour, Hans (above) said that the rakyat will rank the qualities of a leader higher than one’s looks.
“Trust me, it (looks) doesn’t work. For a picture, yes. But the reality is that they want to see results, they want to see what you’ve done. They want to see whether you have a mandate (and) a mind of your own to think for the people, not just wait all the time and see what people do to follow.
“They want to know whether you are a leader or not. If you’re a leader, you take responsibilities,” said Hans during an interview at his Ampang office yesterday.
“Don’t sit on the (sidelines) and say, ‘Hans ni pretty boy la, apa dia tahu?’ (This Hans is a pretty boy, what does he know?). Talk to me!” added the former National Film Development Corporation (Finas) chairperson.
In their analysis of the potential candidates for the seat, Kuasa had noted his former work as an actor - from which he is known to many Malaysians as a "heartthrob”.
“This is probably the main reason why Hans is expected to be a candidate despite a lack of political experience,” read the group’s analysis.
Hans - who has also reportedly affirmed that he is open to the idea of being fielded - declined to verify whether he will be contesting as PKR’s candidate for Ampang, adding it is up to the party’s leadership to decide on the matter.
Hans has never contested as a parliamentary candidate before.
Despite his hesitancy to commit, his zest for political work is clear when he spoke of his work with former PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on the party’s nationwide campaign trail for the upcoming 15th general election.
Further, he also spoke of the work that was done by grassroots group Kita Budak Ampang, which he chairs, to help constituents during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and when Ampang was hit by floods last year.
“During the floods last year… all my boys, Kita Budak Ampang, were carrying shovels and everything, we were carrying people out of their homes.
“The next day, we went to clear the mud out of the houses. We had a centre where people could be safe and where food was sent. So, we have mobilised before. This is PKR. Obviously, the other parties will come around and say they did it.
“We’re like ‘You know what? It’s okay, as long as they (flood victims) are okay (and) we helped’. Malays say ‘ikhlas’ (sincerity without expecting reciprocity). Kita buat kerja ikhlas (We’re working without expecting anything in return),” he said.
In 2020, the parliamentary seat of Ampang was one of ten seats to have suffered from the aftermath of the Sheraton Move - which saw defections that collapsed the Pakatan Harapan government.
Current Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin - who has won the seat thrice from 2008 onwards - defected from PKR to join Malay-based party Bersatu. She would later defect once more to become the current president of Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
In the face of the upcoming polls, Zuraida’s former party PKR is aiming its guns at those seats helmed by “pengkhianat” (traitors).
This includes Zuraida, who is widely expected to defend her incumbent seat, with PKR seriously considering which of its big guns to field against the defectors.
Altimet’s Ampang candidacy
Kuasa also cited rapper Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad, otherwise known as Altimet, as another potential candidate for the hot seat of Ampang.
Checks on their respective social media accounts, however, showed that Hans appeared to be more actively engaged in voter-centric work around the constituency in recent months as opposed to PKR Ampang chief Altimet, who has not been actively posting on his Facebook and Instagram accounts since Aug 23, 2022.
When asked to comment on the matter in a separate interview, Altimet doubted he would contest in GE15 due to his inexperience.
“I think I am too inexperienced right now to run for any federal seat,” he said, adding that he would consider contesting after a few more years of experience under his belt.
Party polls rivalry?
The party polls for PKR Ampang saw some twists and turns over who won the top post before an external audit was called.
Daing Muhammad Reduan Bachok - who was initially named as the new PKR Ampang chief - was then dropped due to “vote-buying” violations which were found to have taken place in the division. This led to a re-do of the election that ultimately led to Altimet’s victory.
When asked about his experience competing against Hans during the party polls earlier this year, he said that it was easy competing with national golfer Hans.
“It’s easy when you compete with somebody who’s a sportsperson and a gentleman. We knew that for the duration of the game, it’s not that ‘I want to beat you’. It’s that ‘I want to win’.
“In order to achieve that, I have to beat you (Hans) but once the final whistle blows, the game is over. It’s time to be friends again and stop being competitors, so that’s how I think the both of us approached it.
"At the end of the day, we are still on the same team and not only are we on the same team, but we’re also in the same division,” he added.
Noting the factionalism that oft-plagues the party, Altimet said that there was no “bad blood” between himself and his PKR Ampang division colleague.
"There’s no bad blood between me and Hans, but what political party doesn’t have factionalism?” he replied.
The Ampang parliamentary seat is deemed a mixed seat with a Malay majority.
PKR is expected to finalise its list of candidates today before the Election Commission’s (EC) meeting to set the GE15 date tomorrow (Oct 20).
“PKR election candidates will be finalised no later than Oct 19,” party deputy president Rafizi Ramli had previously said in a statement.
The EC plans to meet on Oct 20 to discuss important dates related to GE15 including polling and nomination day. - Mkini
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