Will KJ’s clever strategy in Sungai Buloh work?

 

Realising his political career is at stake, Khairy Jamaluddin has adopted a clever strategy that appears to be working.

Rather than bank on his party Umno, whose blemished image is a negative factor among urban voters, Khairy is emphasising his able-to-deliver image and the possibility that voters in Sungai Buloh may lose an opportunity to send a future prime minister to Parliament.

At a Nov 9 ceramah, the former health minister declared his intention to lead Umno and become prime minister one day.

“One day I want to be your prime minister, to develop this country. But I must win here (Sungai Buloh) first. I’m ready, but I must first prove it in Sungai Buloh. If the people here support me, I can inform my party people and then I will enter the dragon’s den.”

That got the attention of Sungai Buloh voters, as it did that of others elsewhere, including the current Umno leadership.

Which voter doesn’t want to have his MP as prime minister? It would mean, for one, greater infrastructural development in the area and more public amenities. Then there is the pride in knowing that your MP is prime minister.

Basically, he is telling voters in Sungai Buloh that if they vote for him, they are voting for a possible future prime minister. None of the six other candidates, especially not Pakatan Harapan’s R Ramanan, can make such a claim.

A few Umno leaders, including vice-president and caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob, quickly came out in support of him, saying he was indeed prime minister material. One even suggested that he be made deputy prime minister after GE15.

The fact is, however, that when Khairy contested for the post of Umno president in July 2018, he was already declaring his ambition to become prime minister one day. In that party election, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi secured 99 of the 191 divisional votes to become president, while Khairy came second with 61.

Khairy is seen by many as a younger leader with potential and someone who had proved himself in the way he handled the vaccination drive during the Covid-19 pandemic.

That he has made some Sungai Buloh voters rethink their decision or placed them in a dilemma is a creditable achievement. FMT reported recently that some voters are conflicted because they like him but not Zahid or the Barisan Nasional, on whose ticket he is standing.

To win over those who think like this, Khairy is increasingly emphasising that he has fallen out of favour with the Umno president and that they don’t see eye to eye.

When Zahid revealed it was Khairy who had asked to contest the Sungai Buloh seat, the latter replied he was forced to ask for the seat because his former Rembau seat had been given to Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan and that the leadership had left him “out in the cold”.

Using this to his advantage, he told a ceramah crowd on Nov 10: “I’m not the president’s favourite person as I am not a yes man.”

Urban voters, of course, love to hear such sentiments expressed.

His statements are aimed at dissociating himself from Zahid who, in the minds of some voters, is guilty of corruption or is leading a corrupt party although the court has freed him of one case and the second case is not over yet. The fact is, one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

He is also working to alter the thinking, voiced by PH’s R Sivarasa, in a warning to his former constituents, that voting for Khairy would essentially mean voting for Zahid. This is because although Umno has named Ismail as its nominee for prime minister if it wins, traditionally the Umno president becomes prime minister whenever BN wins in a general election.

Khairy said he did not want Umno to be “known for its court cluster”. He assured: “If there are any attempts to subvert any cases I’ll be the first to object to it, because we shouldn’t interfere. That’s a promise.”

That should get him some votes from those who are fed up with corruption or who are angry with the Umno leadership for “forcing” Ismail to hold the general election at a time when floods are occurring, or see Umno as the cause of the sundry problems facing the nation.

Then, on Nov 11, describing himself as a reformist, Khairy said he would like to ‘cleanse’ Umno upon wresting Sungai Buloh so that the party would be seen as a “noble vessel for the Malay community”.

However, the following day, he clarified that he was not saying Umno was “broken because it is not”. He explained: “We just want to see the rise of a new leadership and generation with Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as our leader.”

Khairy had, a few days earlier, thrown candy bars to the electorate when he said he was willing to work with any party to ensure the well-being of his constituents. “I will stretch my hand beyond the political divide to work for the people.” He added: “If the state government, local municipality or anybody for that matter stands in my way, I will fight for you.”

More votes for Khairy, surely.

Zahid did Khairy a favour, obviously unintentionally, by saying, on Nov 11, that the latter should be thankful he even had a seat to contest in the general election and to focus on winning the Sungai Buloh seat before dreaming of becoming prime minister. This cements Khairy’s message that he is not linked to Zahid and the court cluster.

Also, such a situation will tug at the heart strings of some voters – for here’s a man who holds promise yet goes unappreciated by his own party leadership.

From the start, Khairy painted himself as the underdog in the battle for the urban constituency which, in the past three elections, was won by Sivasara, the last time with a majority of more than 26,000 votes.

On Nov 9, for instance, he described the contest as the “toughest fight” in his political career. “It will be a very tough fight for me, but I accept the challenge.”

That should get him some votes from those who like to champion the underdog.

If anyone has a chance of pulling off victory for BN, it is Khairy; and I am certain he will get many votes.

The question really is whether it will be enough for victory against PH’s Ramanan who is hardly known but who is backed by the PH brand.

Apart from the fact that Sungai Buloh is a PH stronghold, several other factors are against Khairy. For instance, there are those who see him as arrogant.

I am told that the choice of his words and body language at one ceramah, where he warned Ramanan not to repeat false allegations against him, has angered or disappointed some voters. Khairy shouted: “If you test my patience I will go after you and I will destroy you.”

A video clip of that is making the rounds.

And there are still many who remember the notoriety gained by “the fourth-floor boys”, apparently led by Khairy, during the time his father-in-law Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister.

It was then alleged that the fourth-floor boys – youthful aides operating one storey below the prime minister’s office – were the actual people formulating policy and running the administration. They were accused of being arrogant by even some Umno members and seen as being more powerful than ministers. This, however, was refuted by Khairy.

The fact remains that whatever strategy Khairy employs, much will depend on whether Sungai Buloh voters want PH to form the federal government or not. As it is a tough fight between BN, PH and Perikatan Nasional, they may not want to take chances by giving the vote to Khairy.

It is also about whether they want PH’s Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister this time around or Khairy as possible prime minister on some indeterminate date in the future.

It is not just tough for Khairy or Ramanan and the five others vying for the seat, it’s also tough for the voters who’ll have to choose between Khairy and PH. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.