It’s that time of the year again, where Muslims will perform the fourth of the five pillars of Islam — obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadan, which is less than 10 days away.
For the Kuala Kangsar folk this year, the fasting month will be a trying time, with the parliamentary by-election on June 18. I must admit that I am quite excited at the prospect of exercising my right as a voter and responsible citizen. I will be among the 32,949 registered voters to choose the new “kuale” member of parliament, who will represent the Kuala Kangsar constituents. This will be my third time.
I cast my first vote in the 2004 general election when I was assigned to monitor Kuala Kangsar and the neighbouring constituencies. Before that, I could not exercise my right as I was covering the elections in other areas.
I’m grateful to the Election Commission for allowing media practitioners to register as early voters during the 13th General Election in 2013 when I was posted to Kuantan; all I had to do was tick the ballot papers in Kuantan a few days before polling on May 5.
For most Kuala Kangsar constituents, and as far back as they could remember, former minister and former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz was the popular elected representative as she had contested and won the parliamentary seat from 1982 to 2008 in previous general elections.
Unknown to many, the seat was also held by two women before her, Toh Puan Oon Zariah Abu Bakar from 1974 to 1978 and Yong Fatimah Mohd Razali from 1978 to 1982.
Those who work or live in Kuala Kangsar have seen the development in the town and the nearby villages over the years. Many are grateful that the late Datuk Wan Mohammad Khairil Anuar Wan Ahmad had continued with the good service and development agenda initiated by the previous MPs.
Based on feedback from the ground, constituents are still grappling to come to terms with the death of Wan Khairil, whom they described as being good natured and humble. He had always been there for the people, the villagers claimed. His exemplary report card made him difficult to replace, and a wrong choice would be a death knell for Barisan Nasional (BN).
While some say the sober month of Ramadan may help cool tempers during campaigning, observers claim that the contest would still be pretty intense, as a three-cornered fight is expected.
BN has no choice but to field its strongest candidate to retain the seat, which Wan Khairil won with only a 1,082 vote-majority in the 2013 polls. He was embroiled in a three-cornered fight with Pas’ Khalil Idham Lim and independent candidate Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim.
Wan Khairil secured 14,218 votes against Khalil’s 13,136 votes while Kamilia obtained 447 votes. Lady Luck might shine on BN this time around with the opposition not in its best form. The squabble between Pakatan Harapan and Pas has resulted in both the Islamist party and its splinter, Party Amanah Negara (Amanah), to enter the ring. Amanah may need a miracle to win the seat and its decision to contest will surely split the votes for Pas.
Perak Amanah deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin had openly admitted that they were banking on the support of Pakatan Harapan partners, DAP and PKR to win the by-election. He said Amanah could wrest the seat if PKR and DAP went all out to woo the non-Malay voters.
The Kuala Kangsar Umno division, meanwhile, has decided against submitting any names to allow BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Perak BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir to choose the best candidate without any pressure.
Kuala Kangsar BN chairman and Umno acting division chief Mohamad Kamil Shafie said the main task of party members was to ensure that the BN candidate won with a bigger majority. Perak Umno Youth chief Khairul Azwan Harun said the movement’s machinery would use social media and networking to locate some 11,000 young registered voters, who are working elsewhere.
Kuala Kangsar is a pre-dominantly Malay constituency with 68 per cent of Malays, 24 per cent Chinese and seven per cent Indians.
Apart from securing more votes from the Malays, the coalition machinery must double its efforts to win more Chinese and Indian votes, especially in urban areas. It is indeed an uphill battle as the majority votes that BN had secured showed a steady decline since the 2004 general election.
M. Hamzah Jamaludin is a Universiti Malaya science graduate who refuses to follow Einstein’s path and chooses journalism for a more colourful life. It’s a crucial decision that helps spare dozens of labs and research facilities from accidental explosions.