This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 16, 2018 - April 22, 2018

BENTONG and Raub have become popular tourist destinations in recent years as Malaysians throng the neighbouring districts to savour the king of fruits, especially the renowned Musang King variety. Of late, though, the districts in western Pahang have been making the news for another reason — they are regarded as hot seats in the 14th general election (GE14).

The two parliamentary constituencies are among those that will see a contest between MCA and DAP. Bentong is in the limelight because the incumbent is MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who retained the seat in GE13 with a slim majority of 379 votes.

Meanwhile, in Raub, MCA is working hard to wrest the seat from DAP. The party’s candidate, vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, has been servicing the area for three years now.

Raub fell to the opposition for the first time in GE13, with blogger Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, popularly known as Sakmongkol AK47, winning with a 2,814-vote majority. Mohd Ariff, however, became medically unfit after suffering a stroke last year.

Many had expected DAP to move two of its senior lawmakers to these two seats. Initial talk was that Lim Kit Siang would take on Liow, and later, that publicity chief Tony Pua would be the one.  In the end, however, the party decided to field its GE 13  candidate, environmental activist Wong Tack, once again.

In Raub, DAP had reportedly wanted secretary-general Teresa Kok to contest against Chew. But with Kok apparently not keen to move from her Seputeh stronghold, the task of retaining the seat for DAP has fallen on incumbent Mentakab state assemblyman, Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji.

BENTONG

Bentong has been an MCA seat since independence, and Liow has been the MP since 1999. Political commentator Tang Ah Chai expects Liow to do better this time, based on the development he has brought to the constituency after GE13.

“Moreover, the Lynas rare earth issue no longer has the kind of publicity it had in GE13,” Tang tells The Edge over the phone.

Liow is confident, saying he had been working very hard for the constituency.  “I have a blueprint for Bentong to make it a satellite town of greater Kuala Lumpur,” the caretaker transport minister was reported as saying earlier this year.

Political columnist Lim Hong Siang, however, says that not all voters will appreciate what Liow has done for Bentong.  “He has been working very hard, putting in a lot of effort. There is a lot of development, but whether the people like it is another issue,” he says.

Lim says Liow’s tourism promotion efforts such as the durian festival and cultural street initiatives have brought a lot of people and business,  but have also resulted in traffic congestion and higher food prices.

“As for Wong Tack, we are not sure how well-prepared he is this time, so unless a Malay tsunami happens, Liow seems to stand a better chance,” Lim adds.

Wong, however, says he has never felt such strong sentiment against the incumbent government. Born and bred in Bentong, he notes that his team just had three weeks’ experience in politics when they participated in GE13.

Now,  he says he has managed to make inroads into Felda settlements in Bentong, something he was unable to do during GE13.

“Felda settlers are important voters in Bentong, making up about 25% of total voters,” he tells The Edge. “In GE13, perhaps due to PAS’ influence, Lurah Bilut Felda was the settlement that provided the most support for the opposition, with almost 50% of them voting against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

“Our results in the other Felda settlements were quite good as well, except for Pelangai,” Wong says, adding that things are different in that area now.

“In GE13, even if we had managed to get into the Pelangai settlement, the maximum audience was only 20 people. But now, it is different. Just last week, the youths there, about 100 of them, organised an event and invited me there for a talk,” he says.

Wong also believes that with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad joining the opposition coalition, and DAP using PKR’s logo, it will be easier for him to attract Malay voters this time.

Of the 67,000 registered voters in Bentong, 47% are Malay, 44% Chinese, and 8% Indian, with the rest mainly Orang Asli.

Columnist Lim, however, says a possible three-cornered fight may make things harder for Wong.  “This is different from GE13 when it was one-to-one between BN and DAP. A three-cornered fight [with PAS fielding a candidate] will affect Malay support for Wong Tack,” he says.

RAUB

Over in Raub, Lim says MCA members are expected to swing back to the party. “The majority of the Chinese community, including MCA members, voted for the opposition in GE13 as they thought there could be a change of government. This time, the possibility of changing government is not as high as GE13, so they might swing back to MCA,” he says.

Hence, he says DAP may play up hopes of a Malay tsunami, telling the Chinese community that “it is worth trying another time and not miss the chance to change the government”.

The MCA first contested for Raub in 1978, with former party president Tan Sri Tan Koon Swan winning the seat. The party retained the seat until GE13, when incumbent Tan Sri Ng Yen Yen was replaced by Pahang MCA chief Hoh Khai Mun.

Chew tells The Edge that MCA is hopeful of securing Raub. “From what I have observed, the rural sentiment towards BN is getting better compared with GE13. The few major issues like gold mining and the Cheroh landfill have been resolved. The mining company is bankrupt and a new landfill site has been identified.

“ The remaining issue is water disruption, and work is in progress already. The government is building a water treatment plant in Bilut.”

She says the younger generation prefer to seek a career in big cities like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. “That is why if we win, we want to develop eco-tourism as it will help to create jobs and attract talent.”

Raub has just over 57,000 registered voters — 54% Malay, 38.5% Chinese, 7.6% Indians and 0.16% other races. Of the 22,000 Chinese voters, Chew says 7,800 or 33% are MCA members.

Residents acknowledge her contribution.  “We don’t see the DAP people very often.  In terms of community service, MCA did more in the past. You can easily spot Chew at school events and fundraising activities,” says a coffee shop operator.

“But people around me still express support for the opposition,” says a bicycle retailer. “This has nothing to do with Chew personally  — it is because people want a change in the central government”.

Tang says holding the election midweek would benefit MCA. “It is usually the younger voters, those below 35, who are more receptive to a change in government. In places like Raub, where most young voters are  working elsewhere, that makes it more difficult for them to return to vote,” he says.

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