LANGKAWI – It is looking tough for the oldest candidate in the 15th general election (GE15) to defend his Langkawi parliamentary seat as locals feel the pinch of the sagging economy in this resort island within Kedah.
Among the Malay heartland, there is general dissatisfaction that Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 97, has not been responsive enough to the issues raised by them, especially in the post-pandemic era.
There is also sagging confidence in him among non-Malays after he resigned as prime minister in February 2020, paving the way for the Pakatan Harapan government he led to collapse.
To complicate matters, Dr Mahathir has had two bouts of serious illness since 2018, raising concerns over his fitness level, although local political observers here say he seems alert despite his ripe age of 97.
Photographs of village ceramah on the island show poor public turnouts after Dr Mahathir left the island last Saturday to campaign on the mainland.
The one-term Langkawi MP is due back here on Wednesday, when he will spend the remainder of his campaign to try and shore up support and woo voters with last-ditch efforts before polling on November 19.
Observers here reckon that Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Amirshah Siraj, who is Langkawi-born and was a career officer with the state civil service before his retirement, is giving the super veteran and former prime minister a run for his money.
Amirshah had begun campaigning since last year, and is said to have devised a systematic approach to reach the 65,647 registered voters here.
He has been hosting dinners and rallies for the past week, taking advantage of Dr Mahathir’s absence as the latter is now forced to campaign more on the Kedah mainland after his coalition of Gerakan Tanah Air seemed to have not gained momentum.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has also assessed that even Dr Mahathir’s son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, his predecessor in leading the Kedah government, is struggling to regain the Jerlun parliamentary seat where he is the incumbent.
PAS is showing its might in Kedah, as the Islamist party is growing in momentum under the “village-style” stewardship of Sanusi.
Alor Star-born Dr Mahathir is locked in a five-cornered fight against independent Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sainudin, Armishah (BN), Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (Perikatan Nasional), and Zabidi Yahya (PH).
Although all of the four other candidates are said to have served under Dr Mahathir during his first term as prime minister, he has his hands full this time in regaining his seat.
Dr Mahathir says, “many people are busy campaigning” in response to empty seats at PEJUANG’s rally https://t.co/3kLIAO46Es
— The Online Citizen Asia (@theon9citizen) November 9, 2022
Lacklustre campaign, inexperienced staff
Businessman Ahmad Pishol Isahak said that he is not taking any sides, but from what he observes, Dr Mahathir does not have it easy this time compared with 2018.
Besides his lacklustre campaign, it is also learnt that Dr Mahathir has to deal with allegations that some of his campaigners were not paid for their work in 2018.
His service centre staffers also lack reach in dealing with the community, as they have been preoccupied with serving corporate clientele visiting Langkawi.
Pishol acknowledged that tourism here is sagging due to the effects of the pandemic, and now climate change has caused low tide to cripple the cross-channel ferry services to Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis respectively.
“People are generally unhappy and what they took for granted previously – an efficient ferry ride – is now becoming a bother. There are only four trips daily now compared to the height in the 1990s of a trip every half an hour.”
To further undermine tourism, air fares here are said to be beyond the reach of the working class, especially the B40, said Pishol.
A senior citizen here said that the non-Malays may continue to vote for Dr Mahathir because they are eternally grateful to him for developing Langkawi.
But the B40 group here is unhappy with the rising living costs and poor wages.
“One hotel is only offering a salary of RM500 to its workers now. How can they survive on such sums?” asked the elderly man, who is also a retired businessman.
He hopes that Dr Mahathir can return with pledges to help revive the economy of the island and offer new gimmicks for the beleaguered tourism industry.
Observers here said that it is too early to discount Dr Mahathir, who is a master politician, but life is such that one cannot be winning all the time. – The Vibes, November 11, 2022
