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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 14, 2018 - May 20, 2018

ALL along the winding village road to SK Titi Gajah on the morning Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah were to cast their votes, it seemed like just another quiet day. The pace was slow, people taking their time to get to their destination, unlike the congestion seen at polling stations in other parts of the country. When Mahathir arrived in a black BMW that was driven into the schoolyard, it took him less than 10 minutes to cast his vote.

But that is the polite demeanour of the rice padi state with 1.15 million registered voters, of whom 77.8% are Malays, 14.3% Chinese and 6.5% Indians. The calm exterior of the mostly rural landscape can be deceiving. In 2008, Kedah voters broke the tenure of the long-ruling Barisan Nasional by opting for a PAS-PKR-DAP coalition — only to return power back to BN in 2013.

In this general election, the voters ditched BN, handing 18 state seats to PH and 15 to PAS. Only three seats remained with BN — Guar Chempedak, Sungai Tiang and Bandar Baharu.

What makes this outcome interesting is the silent groundswell of anger that was seething beneath the surface. Over the course of 11 days from nomination day, the campaigns by the competing parties were muted, with the occasional mini ceramah in the more urbanised areas.

The issues raised by PH and PAS candidates concerning the high cost of living, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and high unemployment resonated with the people. But more than that, the people were prompted to vote against BN by their anger with former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the financial scandals involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd, Felda, Mara and Lembaga Tabung Haji.

Despite the absence of news in the mainstream media, villagers in the state were nevertheless aware of the many allegations levelled against Najib, thanks to social media and smartphones.

Even Najib’s campaign visits to Kedah, where he promised development, jobs, allowances and small business funds, as well as a state BN manifesto with a RM55 billion budget, failed to sway voters.

At these events, cash or goodies were a common sight, but by and large, voters appear to have accepted the advice from PH leaders to “take the money but vote for us”.

Kedah PAS commissioner Dr Ahmad Fakruddin Fakhrurazi said a high percentage of voters were fed up with BN for implementing the GST and for the rise in cost of living.

“These are mostly farming communities and fishermen who struggle to make ends meet. Their anger was evident when we talked to them,” he said, adding that PAS data showed rising support for the party. “We also gained extra votes from fence sitters and the increase in number of registered voters.”

It would seem that the people were ready for a change long before the general election was called, with the choice being “anything but BN”.

State PKR chief and Kuala Kedah lawmaker Dr Azman Ismail said the voting was driven by anger against Najib and government institutions.

“It was amazing how they voted. The support for PH was overwhelming. While there was bubbling anger underneath, the Mahathir factor just pulled the traditional support from villages,” he told The Edge.

Mahathir, who won the Langkawi parliamentary seat with a resounding majority, had a handful of meet-and-greet sessions in Kedah, where the response was often overwhelming.

At one ceramah in Felda Bukit Tangga, located off a forest-flanked road near the Thai border, Mahathir’s talk about saving Malaysia reverberated in the open space where some 1,000 settlers and villagers from the area listened intently.

It was pin-drop silence as Mahathir told them how Najib and his people allegedly stole billions of ringgit, ruined FELDA, solved problems with money and incurred a national debt of nearly RM1 trillion.

Ahmad said Malay voters are usually quiet and it was difficult to gauge their sentiment, but their respect for the 92-year-old Mahathir was undeniable, particularly in his home state of Kedah. He attributed the relatively low 76% voter turnout in the state to the decision to hold the election on a Wednesday.

On the increase in the number of state seats won by PAS, 15 from 9 in 2013, Ahmad said it was due to the fact that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Parti Amanah Negara were ill-equipped.

“The machinery was weak, it could not cover all the ground. It was too bad we could not talk to people in every village. The people were willing to change and vote for the opposition but the machinery was not able to advise them on PH and tell them to cross the ‘eye’ symbol, the PKR logo. There was not enough time and grassroots machinery,” he said.

In addition, PH candidates were working on a tight budget as they had to fork out their own funds to finance their campaigns.

“We would have gained more seats if we had sufficient funds. PAS seemed to have enough to go around. In the end, the people voted for PAS, which was the only other alternative they were familiar with,” Ahmad said.

Still in shock, Sungai Tiang BN assemblyman Datuk Suraya Yaacob, who won with a thin majority of 641 votes but “lost” most of her comrades in the polls, said she had failed to read the anger of the people.

“We didn’t see it, or maybe my machinery did not appreciate the emotion. I knew there was some anger and I tried to explain to them that they were wrong about Najib and 1MDB, that they didn’t know him like I do, and that it was a matter of perception. Perhaps I was not convincing enough,” she said.

 

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