Comedian Gana sees personality, not fame, as campaign advantage

 

STATE POLLS | Actor-comedian S Gana is in high spirits despite the uphill task before him in the Selangor state election.

In the Pakatan Harapan stronghold of Subang Jaya, Perikatan Nasional has chosen him to unseat the DAP incumbent Michelle Ng as well as to see off a challenge by Muda’s Zayd Shaukat Ali.

“I have been entrusted by the PN leadership to contest this seat. Although many may say that urban voters are hesitant about PN, I still see welcoming faces when I meet voters here.

“They don't reject my leaflets and are willing to listen to me,” he said during a walkabout.

During the 14th general election, the incumbent Ng won the seat with an overwhelming majority of 48,272 in the constituency out of 74,023 eligible voters at the time.

“I can interact with voters due to my personality. I often joke around when meeting voters, and the fact that my son can speak Mandarin helps me engage with them about the issues affecting them here and their hopes for the future," Gana (above, left) said, pointing to his second son, Tharen Vishal, 19.

“I usually just follow my father when he goes campaigning and observe. When I see people struggling to speak in Malay or English, I will talk to them in Mandarin.

“At first, they are surprised to hear me speak Mandarin, but then they start sharing their concerns with me,” said Vishal.

He said the main issues raised by the residents here are infrastructure, cleanliness, and traffic problems.

“I am used to interacting closely with the public in various characters I have portrayed before, as an actor, comedian, and now as a politician. I believe the people share their problems with me because they believe I can address their issues if I am elected,” Gana said.

New face to Subang Jaya

Gana is an actor best known for his heroic and comedic roles in local films such as ‘Kampung Kuttua’, ‘Pattanathu Thaatha’ and has also appeared in various Tamil series and local productions.

He is famous for the film ‘Appalam’, which was directed by Afdlin Shauki and won the Best Film Award at the 2012 Malaysia Indian Film Festival.

Despite these achievements, Gana dismisses the notion that his fame as an artist is a driving factor for his campaign.

“Most voters here have never heard of me or watched my films. Of course, there might be a few who know, but the majority don't recognise me.

“So, it's not true when people say fame helps,” said Gana, who also produced Malaysia's first Tamil animation ‘Estate Boy’.

Even though he remains a relatively new face to Subang Jaya voters, Gana said he has had a lot of interactions on social media, including direct messages and comments on his posts.

“Some comments are very disappointing and hurtful. I just want to say, please don't underestimate anyone and don't just be a keyboard warrior. Comments on social media are fine, but I'm only asking for the comments to be fair.

“Ask yourself, as a voter, what do you want me to do? What issues do you want me to discuss? And then comment,” he said.

He encouraged young people to register as election observers or polling agents to better understand the electoral process.

“Come and see for yourself how the system works. Understand it and then you can suggest how to make things better for all Malaysians,” he said. - Mkini