This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 8, 2018
ALOR SETAR: It was nearly 10pm as a group of not more than 30 people gathered in an intimate circle under a makeshift tent, lit only by a few fluorescent bulbs to listen to an old friend talk about national politics.
In the moonlit night, caretaker Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz, popularly known as Tok Man, has just finished a prayer meeting with his voters in the open area under his cousin’s stilted kampung house in Lubok Pinang in the Jerlun parliamentary constituency.
He shakes hands with the menfolk, appealing for their continued support before tucking into some rice, meat and pickled fish, a local delicacy from the produce of padi fields nearby. He then thanks the folks gathered there and leaves.
“I have five places to go tonight. The people are waiting for me,” said Othman, 59, as his four-wheel drive takes off to the next polling district, expertly negotiating a narrow padi field bund, to Kampung Lana Bulu, Ayer Hitam.
Othman’s campaigning style for the 14th general election is typical of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Umno candidates who prefer to meet their staunch voters in small communal groups rather than ceramahs.
“We prefer to salam (shake hands) with our voters rather than have big ceramahs. After all, we know these people although their problems are different. So I spend about half an hour talking and listening to them, then a quick makan (meal), which is a polite thing to do because they have cooked, and leave. I have very little time,” he said.
There are 35 polling districts in Jerlun, 10 of which have always been grey, the code for areas where a significant portion of votes are not in the bag. This is more so in the current election season, with the presence of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) under the Pakatan Harapan coalition, on top of the votes that would go to PAS.
In the last general election, under the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, PAS won one parliamentary seat and nine state seats while PKR secured four parliamentary and state seats.
Slightly anxious over the uncertainty this time, he pleads to his supporters to execute a strategy called “ops kepong” (operation gather) and “ops mengorat” (operation entice) in the villages to encourage BN loyalists to stay on track, and entice fence sitters to make the switch.
The Jerlun incumbent hopes to beat his friend Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, who has since joined PPBM, and PAS candidate Abdul Ghani Ahmad.
Mukhriz, 54, held the seat for one term in 2008 after swapping with Othman for the Ayer Hitam state seat as a tactical move by BN to make him Kedah menteri besar in 2013.
Currently, the seat has 54,132 registered voters where 91% of them are Malays, 7% Chinese and 2% others. A majority of the voters are padi farmers, and the rest are fisherman, rubber tappers and civil servants.
Othman himself used to work in his parents’ padi fields, tap rubber, and sell nasi lemak and ais kapai as a child in Kampung Gandai nearby. He has relatives and friends in the villages, making him a familiar face to voters, yet he cannot rest easy.
“Everybody thinks I am fighting Mukhriz but don’t be surprised that PAS cuts me around the corner. Their supporters are very intact. PAS is a threat to us. If they retain what they got before, and votes split between BN and PPBM, it is dangerous. They could win,” he said.
The outcome in the state still hangs in the balance, as although Pakatan is a popular choice, particularly in urban areas like Alor Star and Sungai Petani, a question mark remains on its future in Putrajaya.
All Kedah seats are fraught, with multi-cornered fights that could split the votes the two main coalitions had bagged in the previous general election.
According to Kedah PAS commissioner Dr Ahmad Fakhruddin Syeikh Fakhrurazi, the party is positive on its ground support.
“We are aware of the situation on the ground because we have data that is collected periodically from the polling districts. Based on that, we are very energised to meet the people,” he added.
Fakhruddin said the party, which leads the Gagasan Sejahtera coalition, is confident of not losing out in three or four-cornered fights.
“Yes, all the seats we are contesting are considered marginal but we are capable of making a shocking result,” he said.
Municipal council officer Elaine Goh, 34, who will vote for the Pokok Sena parliamentary seat where the incumbent Datuk Mahfuz Omar switched to Parti Amanah Negara from PAS last December, said her family are strong opposition party supporters.
“My father has always supported PAS while my mother and other relatives like PKR but we know the opposition is not as strong here as in Penang. From what I see, it seems that BN will still win here,” said Goh.
First-time voter Shimah Abdul Aziz, 25, is excited to cast her vote and has made up her mind that it would be BN, following the voting trend of her family.
“We prefer BN because they have always helped us. They give welfare aid to my family. I am not sure if the opposition will continue doing this,” said the Kuala Nerang voter, who will cast her ballot for the Padang Terap parliamentary seat.
In the village, Othman does not dismiss former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s aura among Umno households but he resolutely brushes it aside, saying that it is of no use if PPBM cannot assist the people without party divisions or branches to address voters’ needs.
“How will they operate with no machinery, proper administrative structure like ours? Also, Mukhriz is not from Jerlun. People notice this in kampungs. So, even if PPBM wants to talk about 1Malaysia Development Bhd, Mara or Felda here, no one cares.
“These are simple folks, facing day-to-day issues. We look after them with the 1Malaysia People’s Aid and other allocations. I talk from my heart because I understand their feelings. I know what it means to be poor with just five sen in my pocket, which is why I focus on their problems instead of slinging mud at my opponents. We don’t do such things in the kampungs,” he said.
Over in Pendang, an aide of former Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan explains the sensitivity of the local people to personal criticism.
He reckons that Amanah president Mohamad Sabu or Mat Sabu may have lost the seat in the last general election after poking fun at local BN candidate Othman Abdul.
“Rural Malays don’t like that. Even if they know the candidate’s attributes are not appealing, they dislike outsiders making insinuations about individuals from here,” he said.
Pendang has traditionally been a BN seat but its cycle was broken when PAS won the seat for two terms in 2004 and 2008, giving Mat Sabu, who was with PAS then, the impetus to contest in 2013, when he lost to Othman.
This time, PPBM candidate Wan Saiful is keeping the campaign clean and focusing on basic issues to gain votes. He aims to break Padiberas Nasional Bhd’s monopoly on importing rice, he tells the locals.
Hotel worker Fazziletel Idris, 25, finds that both sides have good proposals in their manifestos to help the people and will decide closer to the polls.
But she feels Mahathir’s glory days are over and should allow the incumbent government to continue operating. However, she quickly changes her mind and says she is not sure if that is the right thing to say about the 93-year-old politician.
“I don’t go to the talks but I follow the chats on social media, so I am still undecided,” said the first-time voter from the Jerai parliamentary seat.
Across the state where sprawling padi fields cover the landscape, the only signs of an upcoming election are the political party flags, buntings and posters lining the roads or perched on railings as the candidates take their campaign to the voters.
Of late though, Mahathir’s former colleagues in the cabinet back in the 1990s through early 2000s, Tun Daim Zainuddin and Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, have come to jolt the languorous mood in Kedah.
Banking on their status as national leaders, the duo, both of whom are in their 70s, have endorsed Wan Saiful and Mukhriz, and their old friend Mahathir as candidates that should be voted in for change in the state and country.
“Malays forget easily but Mahathir doesn’t. He has come back to battle for justice. Even after 60 years, the Malays are far behind. He asks you one last time for your support. Please don’t deny him that,” Daim said in a meeting with farmers.
Rafidah, on the other hand, is outright with her call for people to vote for Pakatan, charging at BN on social media and at ceramahs.
He also expects Mahathir to lose to incumbent Datuk Nawawi Ahmad in the Langkawi parliamentary because the latter is an “old-timer” on the island.
Nevertheless, Mahathir draws the crowd at ceramahs in Langkawi, promising them to improve their lives and the economy.
The former premier plans to spur the tourism industry to raise the level of entrepreneurship among the locals, reminiscent of the time he was the federal government head.
“I will try to bring in more tourists from Eastern Europe, and the Middle East like Uzbekhistan and Kazakhstan through the introduction of direct flights.
“This will grow the local economy and people can start businesses to cater to the industry.
“Even if you sell pisang goreng or handmade baskets, you can become rich in Langkawi if the economy is good.
“I did this when I was the prime minister but after I resigned in 2004, Langkawi began to slump. The island is just waiting for us to make it shine again,” he added.
Despite the promise, some locals are sceptical about his ability to make a change after crossing to the other side.
“He can’t change anything here. He is in Pakatan and the federal government is BN. If he wins, and the government is BN, we will see nothing here,” said nasi kandar seller Kadir.
Nevertheless, the Indian community, about 2,000 of them in Gunung Raya, who have often lived on the sidelines, claims anything is better than nothing.
“We are willing to try Pakatan this time because of Mahathir who chose to stand here.
“He promised to give elderly people blue identity cards, and offer government jobs to our youth at the Langkawi Development Authority,” said reverse osmosis water supplier Rames Narayanasamy, 48.
“Being a small community, we are often overlooked by BN, so for us we have nothing to lose if we vote for the opposition this time,” he said.
As the evening wanes on the island, Mahathir’s close friend and PPBM comrade Datuk A Kadir Jasin rouses a crowd at the ceramah as the elderly statesman stands patiently next to him.
Kadir tells them that they are lucky to have the opportunity to not only vote for Mahathir but to select the next prime minister.
“He could have contested any seat in Malaysia and still win but he chose Langkawi.
“So you now have a very difficult job in the world to not select a parlimentarian but Malaysia’s prime minister,” he said.
In mainland Kedah, uncertainty looms as the rival coalitions hold muted campaigns as May 9 approaches.
Perhaps change in the state could come from the resort island of Langkawi, which woke up to development three decades ago under Mahathir’s watch as the fourth prime minister.