Tightest of races in the heartland

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Apr 29, 2013

(ST) – People attending a PAS rally in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. As many as 15 of the 59 state seats in Perak were won by slim margins in 2008, indicating that the contest for votes is likely to be just as tight this time.

RICE farmer Rosdee Haron sips a hot brew at the local coffee shop as he surveys the half-finished mosque down the road. It bears the bright blue banner of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Just for the elections,” he mutters.

Titi Serong is located in the north-western district of Kerian, which was considered a BN stronghold until 2008, when it delivered almost all its votes to the opposition, helping to make Perak one of three states clinched by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance.

Mr Rosdee’s sceptical comment may mean that BN has some way to go before it can expect to swing the tide in its favour in Sunday’s general election.

Perak, the second-largest state by area in peninsular Malaysia, used to be among the country’s richest states due to its strong tin deposits. But commodity prices have slumped, and last year, Perak’s mean monthly household income was ranked the fourth-lowest among the nation’s 13 states.

Besides, new voters make up a fifth of the 1.4 million people eligible to vote – a factor not relished by incumbent governments, which are always leery about the anti-establishment sentiments of younger folk. There’s another factor in play – next-door Penang is perceived to have prospered under the opposition Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) rule.

BN’s response to the challenge has been robust.

First, it sought early-mover advantage by identifying its candidates much in advance, giving them time to cover the ground. Second, it adopted so-called “man-to-man marking” so as to persuade opposition-leaning voters to change sides.

And last Friday, Prime Minister Najib Razak made a brief stop in Kerian to canvass for votes.

Barely a year after losing Perak, BN regained control of the 59-seat state assembly when three PR assemblymen defected.

The government has poured more than RM1.4 billion (S$570 million) into Kerian, building or renovating markets and mosques, and improving roads in a bid to regain influence in this Malay heartland. “If we win Kerian, we win the state,” says Mr Shalimin Shaffie, political secretary to Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir.

The Perak PR manifesto also makes special mention of Kerian district, promising to protect its Islamic heritage by setting aside funds to build and operate several modern Islamic research centres there if Pakatan wins power.

Over in the state capital of Ipoh, Mr Zambry has gone on a charm offensive, hosting regular tea sessions and stepping up the pace of weekly state executive council meetings.

“For the first time in history, we don’t have any backlog of files,” he tells The Straits Times.

But the goalposts of electoral success may have shifted somewhat since 2008.The people in Kerian have seen up close what they consider to be a credible performance by the DAP in Penang.