ALOR SETAR (April 24): Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz said it is unfortunate he has to face his former Umno comrade Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir in the upcoming general election, but hopes to beat him on a level playing field based on policies that have been implemented for padi farmers.
“It is unfortunate that he (Mukhriz) wants to be on the other side (Opposition) but this contest is not about personality, it is about the party and what we can offer to the people,” said Othman.
Othman, the incumbent Member of Parliament for the Jerlun constituency in Kedah, is defending the seat in the May 9 polls. His main opponent will be Mukhriz of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
“I am confident that Barisan Nasional can fulfil the needs of the locals,” Othman told theedgemarkets.com.
Nevertheless, he said he would not be complacent as "anything can happen", contending that it would be a “struggle not only in Jerlun but nationwide” because of PPBM’s presence.
Othman, 59, served as Ayer Hitam assemblyman from 2008 to 2013 before swapping seats with Mukhriz, 54, as part of a strategic move for BN to wrest back Kedah, then under a PAS-led administration.
At that time, BN chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised voters to make Mukhriz the Kedah Menteri Besar if they voted for BN.
However, Mukhriz, a one-term Jerlun MP from 2008 to 2013, only served as Menteri Besar from 2013 till February 2016 before he resigned following disagreements with the BN leadership over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.
Othman won the Jerlun seat in 2013 by a majority of 3,270 votes over PAS’ Ismail Salleh in 2013.
“We hope to win all the seats — Jerlun and state seats of Kota Siputeh and Ayer Hitam. The mood on the ground is positive. People know what they want,” he added.
Mukhriz, who is now the PPBM vice president, will be contesting the Jerlun seat as well as the Jitra state seat (under the Kubang Pasu Parliamentary constituency) in this election.
Othman said under the BN’s ‘Jerlun for Jerlun’ campaign theme, padi farmers have been promised RM600 subsistence allowance for in-between padi planting sessions for the next five years.
“I am using my finance portfolio to ensure the voters get what they deserve. We have also rationalised padi prices at RM1,200 per tonne nationwide, and raised rice producing subsidy to RM300 per tonne from RM248 per tonne while RM1.2 billion has been allocated for tertiary drains to help with irrigation in Muda Agriculture Development Authority areas in Kedah,” he added.
About 90% of the voters in Jerlun comprise padi farmers with the balance made up of fishermen, rubber smallholders and civil servants.
The voters have also been offered funds that will help them make cakes to sell, and rear cows to tide them over in between padi planting sessions.
Asked why these incentives were being offered now, Othman said he did not have the opportunity previously as he was only made Deputy Finance Minister in June 2016 after a Cabinet reshuffle.