BAGAN DATUK – The “surprising” decision to field PKR’s Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin in Bagan Datuk is actually based on data, the former party information chief said.
Denying any suggestion that he was forced to take up a “suicide mission” to contest the Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s stronghold, Shamsul said he is confident of his overall chances.
He said electoral data showed that Zahid is not on solid ground, despite being the parliamentary seat’s five-term MP since 1995.
“There are several factors to this, firstly the Hutan Melintang Army camp, which has now been closed after 2018, so that’s more or less 2,000 votes taken out from Zahid’s vote bank.
“There is also an additional 15,000 new voters for the seat – particularly from the youth segment,” Shamsul told The Vibes in an interview, referring to newly enfranchised voters thanks to Undi18 and automatic voter registration laws.
“In the last election, Zahid won with only 5,073 votes. Adding all these factors, it is definitely doable (for me) to close the gap,” said the former Hang Tuah Jaya MP.
In recent press interviews, Zahid suggested that Shamsul had been “forced” to stand in Bagan Datuk against his wishes, implying discord among PKR leaders.
However, Shamsul said he is ready to take on the challenge as it is “necessary” to unseat Zahid if the country is to see change.
“Zahid is seen as an enemy of the country, with a slew of criminal charges against him. People are hungry for change, among Bagan Datuk voters and even people outside (of the constituency).”
Discord in Umno
Rubbishing claims of discord within PKR’s leadership, Shamsul said it was Umno that was split, especially after Zahid’s controversial decision to axe long-time party veterans from contesting in the 15th general election.
However, the PKR man said he is not interested in attacking Umno outright, but to show voters Zahid’s character and the impact of his decision on his party.
“We are focusing on Zahid and his actions rather than on Umno outright. We are trying to convince these Umno members to vote against their own president," he said.
Among those Zahid had dropped as candidates include Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Mutalib, and Datuk Azhar Ahmad. They are regarded as warlords or at least command strong followings in the respective localities.
In the aftermath of Zahid’s decision, Zahidi, Ismail, Azhar and Shahidan have gone rogue and are contesting in GE15 either as independents or with a different coalition, triggering their immediate sacking from Umno.
PKR making headway into rural Bagan Datuk
Based on statistics from previous elections, Bagan Datuk consists of 60% Malay voters followed by Chinese (18%), Indian (22%), and others (1%) with 58,183 registered voters.
In the 2018 general election, Zahid won the Bagan Datuk seat with a 5,073-vote majority after receiving 18,909 votes to defeat Pakhrurrazi Arshad (PKR) who received 13,836 votes and PAS candidate Ata Abdul Muneim Hasan Adli (4,061 votes).
Zahid’s support base here includes the Indian community, particularly the Telegus, who has a long history in Bagan Datuk, which is among their early settlements before they moved to other parts of the country.
To woo this community, Shamsul said he has engaged the help of local community leaders as well as disseminating campaign content online in the Telegu language.
“We are receiving good feedback from the community and are making headway day by day. It will take a bit of time but we are confident of winning their votes overall,’’ he said.
However, most of the Bagan Datuk voters consist of the Jawa community, often considered a vote bank for Zahid.
Being of Jawa descent and locally born and raised, Zahid has often used his ties to the community to his advantage, even campaigning in Javanese.
Religiously oriented, Shamsul said this community will be the hardest to convince.
“Jawa people are very rich in culture and very Islamic. So I am relying on my credentials, having graduated from the International Islamic University (Malaysia) and spending every prayer time to visit mosques and surau within this community.”
He also said that the Jawa community here is comfortable with Zahid, but their youth are different and want change.
“Those who were born in 1995 are now 27 years old and they will pose a challenge to Zahid.”
Changes needed in Bagan Datuk
The changes wanted in the seat include substantial economic development which, despite being a five-term MP and minister of various portfolios, Zahid has failed to bring, said Shamsul.
Zahid may have even been deputy prime minister previously, but he is blaming the lack of development on the government change after Pakatan Harapan won federal power in 2018.
The Umno leader has been saying that he planned to bring some RM4.8 billion worth of development into Bagan Datuk, but it was cut to a mere RM900 million when PH took over.
In response, Shamsul said Zahid was avoiding the fact that he had failed to drive proper development into the district in the last 30 years.
“Come on, you were here for the past 27 years and then you want to blame Lim Guan Eng (PH’s finance minister) for cutting development funds here?
“As a new government, PH also had other priorities. But the so-called development projects you proudly speak of were only mentioned in the last few years, perhaps from 2015 or 2016.
“But what about the years before? What did you do?’’ Shamsul said.
In his election manifesto, he has mooted a separate municipal council to service Bagan Datuk, which is still managed by the Teluk Intan Municipal Council despite being declared a district in 2016.
Bagan Datuk needs better town planning and management of its sanitation and other amenities, he said.
Shamsul has been dubbed a “giant killer” among his peers in PH as he defeated former Melaka chief minister Tun Mohd Ali Rustam to wrest the Bukit Katil parliamentary seat in 2013.
He defeated Ali again in 2018 when the Bukit Katil constituency was changed to Hang Tuah Jaya.
This time, Bagan Datuk sees a four-cornered fight between Zahid, Shamsul, Perikatan Nasional’s Muhammad Faiz Na’aman, and independent Mohamed Tawfik Ismail. – The Vibes, November 12, 2022
