GE13: Khalid Jaafar: The unknown local in Hulu Selangor

YOU would think that being a homegrown candidate would give one the upper hand in the face of a tough challenge in a general election. But Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) Khalid Jaafar has proved that adage wrong not once, but three times.

Khalid, widely tipped as PKR’s candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Hulu Selangor in the upcoming general election, now faces a different challenge as he tackles a whole new electorate. But he is undaunted and insists he can pull off an upset in the largely rural seat.

 

Though he may seem like a new face in Malaysian politics, the former journalist has experience contesting in (and losing) general elections: he had previously stood as candidate in the constituencies of Batu Berendam and later in Bukit Katil, Malacca since 1999.

 

Now, he’s shifting his election hopes to Hulu Selangor.

 

The executive director of the Institute for Policy Research (IKD) however rejected the notion that being parachuted to Hulu Selangor would be a disadvantage after having operated in Malacca for 14 years.

 

“Although the normal thing is to go back to your roots to contest, I think is a fallacy,” Khalid told fz.com.

 

“I was born in Batu Berendam, Malacca, yes but at the age of 15 I went to boarding school in Seremban and I would only visit during school holidays. I didn’t have much interaction with the peers in my age group in my village. After graduating from college, I started working and eventually settled down in Selangor, where I’ve been since.

 

“The only time we used to go back after that was for Hari Raya or to visit our parents. I have no engagement with the people (there).

 

“This is what happened to most us in PKR – we went back to our kampung after 10 years and some even 20 years – thinking that people know you but the truth is, they forget you. You were not at their weddings or funerals, you were not there for their youth activities – you’re detached.”

 

 

Khalid had his first taste of the political contest in 1999 when he challenged the late Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba for the Batu Berendam parliamentary seat. Khalid, who was standing under the Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) banner, lost to the Umno veteran and former deputy prime minister by 7,105 votes. 

 

PKN was, at that time, part of a loose coalition known as the Barisan Alternatif, made up of DAP, PKN, Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and PAS, which was formed in the wake of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking as deputy prime minister and from Umno, and his subsequent arrest.

 

Khalid is a close ally of Anwar, having worked as the latter’s press secretary from the time he was education minister in the 1980s until he became deputy prime minister. Yet Khalid remained averse to joining Umno to pursue a career in politics and instead dreamt of life in academia. 

 

But the antipathy against politics did not last long as the injustice targetted against his former boss prompted him to take a lead role in helping form PKN in 1999.

 

“I know of all that can go wrong but in 1998 it was something really extraordinary. Right after Anwar’s arrest, there was a witch hunt. I had to go into hiding. I left everything behind and hid in Jakarta for six months.

 

“That’s when I made a choice to help build a political movement – just ordinary dissent was not enough. We knew we had to take a frontal struggle and politics is the only way it can be done,” he said, shuddering at the thought of the distant memory.

 

A delineation exercise prior to the 2004 general polls saw Batu Berendam divided into the parliamentary constituencies of Bukit Katil and Tangga Batu, prompting Khalid to contest again after PKN merged with PRM to form the present PKR.

 

But the 58-year-old tasted defeat once more as he lost against Umno’s Datuk Mohd Ruddin Abdul Ghani by a whopping 27,252 votes in the contest for Bukit Katil. 

 

Although the saying goes “third time’s lucky”, this adage too did little to help Khalid when he faced off against Umno’s Datuk Md Sirat Abu in the 2008 general election for the same seat. He lost, but this time by 1,758 votes despite the opposition’s new pact, Pakatan Rakyat, making substantial inroads to Parliament.

 

“In 2008, I would have won had there been indelible ink. I lost by about 1,700 votes, I needed 900 votes. There were incidences of dubious voters that we heard of but I didn’t have enough polling agents at that time,” said Khalid sounding rather dejected.