Hoping for a Bollywood ending

Philip Golingai, The Star

THE conversation at a burger stall in the idyllic fishing jetty in Teluk Pelanduk, Port Dickson was political.

Two Malay men were excitedly talking about the by-election while the 20-something burger seller listened attentively on the afternoon of nomination day.

Curious to know what the ordinary Malay voters thought of the by-election which PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is contesting as a step to becoming Prime Minister, I asked the three men who they thought would win the seven-cornered fight.

“Anwar Ibrahim,” said a 40-something voter from Linggi, one of the five state seats under Port Dickson MP seat.

“Why?” I asked.

“Pakatan Harapan is the government. We will support the government of the day,” said the PKR member, who was an Umno member but quit when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was Prime Minister.

“Anwar will be an MP and he’ll be PM. And I don’t think Anwar will not develop his parliamentary seat.”

Nearby, there were about half a dozen local fishermen. They were readying for a night of fishing in the sea. One of the wooden fishing boats flew a Barisan Nasional flag.

The fishermen were Umno supporters. They were not enthusiastic about the by-election as their party was not contesting.

“Will you vote for Isa Samad?” I asked, referring to the former Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar and Umno vice-president Tan Sri Isa Samad.

“No, he is a traitor,” said a 60-something fisherman.

“How about Saiful?” I asked, referring to sodomy victim Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who had accused Anwar of sodomising him.

“He is contesting?” he answered, laughing.

From my conversation with them, I gathered that they did not like Anwar or PAS or Isa and they would probably stay at home or go fishing on polling day this Oct 13.

In Port Dickson, Malays make up 43% of the voters, Chinese 33%, Indians 22% and others 2%.

“How are the Malay voters?” I asked Senator Yusmadi Yusoff, a political aide to Anwar, who has been on the ground since nomination day on Sept 29.

The Malays in Port Dickson are like the Malays in Balik Pulau, said the former Balik Pulau MP.

“They are parochial in their own way. Someone like Isa Samad has an advantage – little advantage – as he is a local boy, a former menteri besar and he has relatives in the area. He would have a slight advantage against Anwar if not for his integrity issue,” Yusmadi said.

Isa, who is running as an independent candidate with the chair symbol, was embroiled in a corruption scandal when he was Felda chairman.

At the nomination centre, Yusmadi saw Isa with relatives and friends, and this indicated that the former Umno leader did not have support from the party machinery.

“In politics, what is important is machinery, machinery, machinery,” he said.

Isa, when contacted, was confident that he would win the by-election.

“The support is there,” he said. “My chances are very fair against Anwar. I have a chance to win.”

He also feels that even though he doesn’t have the Umno machinery he will still get support because he has been serving the Port Dickson constituents for 20 over years as mentri besar and he has many relatives in the constituency.

As for PAS, Yusmadi observed that the party was hardly campaigning.

It was concentrating on a media game where it questioned whether Anwar was eligible to contest. It claimed that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had only granted the Prime Minister-designate a full pardon and not a free pardon.

“It might backfire. It doesn’t gel with Malay culture to question the Agong,” said the PKR politician.

Saiful?

Yusmadi said from his observation, the former aide to Anwar was unpopular in Port Dickson.

He noted that the reception that PKR received from the Malays was different from when he campaigned for Ruslan Kasim in the Teluk Kemang (renamed Port Dickson) by-election in 2001 which Barisan Nasional won.

“We were chased out by the kampung people with parang then. Now, no. We are welcomed,” he said.

He predicts that Anwar will get about 70% of the total Malay votes, Isa about 10% and PAS slightly more than Isa as “rain or thunderstorm”, the party’s hardcore supporters will vote for it.

Twitter personality Stevie Chan Kee Leong, who is running as an independent, has a different take.

“Malay vote split can be surprising. Isa and Anwar are the favourites at the moment, but my team has made significant inroads into that community,” he said.

For example, he said, the reception he got in Malay heartland like Linggi has been overwhelming.

“Pakcik (uncles) loudly called out my name from across the street, they wanted to meet and talk to me. That means our message has reached them, although I am not entirely sure how that happened,” he said.

“And in Teluk Kemang, another ‘Malay area’, we have been taken in like old friends by the post-Suboh prayer crowds at the warung (stalls), all of them in prayer-proper garbs and skullcaps, some even wearing PAS shirts.”

Chan, whose tagline is #KasiChan (GiveChance) noted that the Malays are politically torn as their whole concept of party politics has changed.

“After 9 May, they see Umno as weak, they get confused with PAS, but they have anti-Pakatan Harapan sentiment as well. So, they are most likely to swing,” he said.

The Malay voters, according to him, are unlike the Chinese voters.

“The Chinese voters are staunch PH or DAP supporters. But all segments have been open to listening to my argument – I am pro PH after all,” he said.

The Chinese are also the hardest to predict, he said.

“Their clan-and party-culture is entrenched, they are torn between my message of Politik Baru (new politics) and their loyalty to DAP. I can only hope they get that I am also pro-PH and came to PD to defend PH’s reform agendas,” he said.

The Chinese, said independent candidate Lau Seck Yan, who is a former lecturer, are divided into three types.

Those who support because of the party, not the individual, those who are aware and would make an informed decision, and those who refuse to vote – regardless of the situation.

Anwar, said Yusmadi, has about more than 80% of the votes from the Chinese. Initially, according to him, pundits said he would only get support from DAP and PKR supporters.

But for him, Anwar will get votes beyond the PH voters.

The Indians are solidly behind Anwar, said Yusmadi.

For the community, Anwar is their hero – their MGR (the late Indian actor M.G. Ramachandran).

“There is heroism. You have a leader who can sing (Tamil hit songs), who understand their culture and try to speak in their language. They see him fighting for their plight,” he said.

Chan thinks otherwise.

“The Indian middle class is solidly behind our message, they are the earliest group I got in touch with in PD through some highly respected locals,” he said.

“The working class is generally fed up with the power play they perceive to be vulgar, and has been very warm towards us on our walkabouts. However, those with political backgrounds (including temples) are somewhat resistant.”

The Port Dickson by-election will have a Bollywood ending – the dashing hero will be triumphant. Hidup MGR! (Long live MGR!)