GE13: Rough ride for Nurul Izzah in Lembah Pantai

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Apr 12, 2013

(fz.com) – If the results of an Barisan Nasional survey are anything to go by, incumbent PKR Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar is losing ground in the battle for Federal Territory’s hottest parliamentary seat.

According to the Barisan Nasional Youth Volunteers (BNYV), roughly one-third of about 200 Lembah Pantai constituents who took part in a phone survey over the last month are leaning heavily towards Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, the BN candidate for the seat.

(The remaining 70% was unevenly split between fence sitters and opposition supporters, according to the survey, which is only meant for BN’s internal use.)

BNYV is a volunteer programme under BN Youth that was set up June 2012 to provide a platform for BN youth supporters outside the official party campaign machinery to play a role in GE13.

The group has an estimated 10,000 volunteers who are spread over its seven state chapters, and its headquarters in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar has been working the ground and phone lines in Lembah Pantai.

Pakatan captured the BN stronghold in the 2008 general elections when Nurul Izzah defeated incumbent Datuk Seri Sharizat Abdul Jalil by a majority of 2,895 votes.

Since then BN has been on a warpath to reclaim this prized seat from the first-term politician, whom they claimed rode to victory on her father (opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim)’s coat tails.

And so PKR’s Puteri Reformasi is expected to face Umno’s Lembah Pantai chief in one of the fiercest fights that will officially begin come nomination day on April 20.

An Umno personality, however, has observed that Nurul Izzah is in “big trouble” due to the reactions that BNYV has been receiving from the survey respondents.

“When asked who their MP is, many of them are already naming Raja Nong Chik because they see him more and relate to him better,” said the source, who asked not to be named due to the confidentiality of BNYV’s survey results.

“Izzah is strong in Bangsar Utama and Lucky Garden but not in Kerinchi. But we’re not too worried about residents in these two areas because many of them are either expatriates or non-constituents.”

Lembah Pantai’s 72,533 voters are divided between the urban, wealthy Bangsar and Pantai Dalam, which houses a combination of affluent and working class Malays.

When asked to weigh in on the survey results, BNYV’s Director and National Coordinator Zaidel Baharuddin pointed out that for voters to recognise Raja Nong Chik as their MP instead of a national figure like Nurul Izzah spoke volumes.

He added that Nurul Izzah’s position as a national figure is a double-edged sword as far as her groundwork is concerned as it took her away from her constituents.

“She’s famous but she travels a great deal throughout the country and Lembah Pantai hardly sees her,” Zaidel stated.

“When Izzah speaks at ceramahs outside Kuala Lumpur, Raja Nong Chik will be attending five functions in Lembah Pantai.”