ONE aspires to become the first Orang Asli in the country to be elected as a Member of Parliament while another is making his third attempt following his two previous defeats.
This best describes the stiff contest between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Ramli Mohd Nor and Pakatan Harapan (PH) M. Manogaran as they lock horns with two independent candidates - Salehuddin Ab Talib and farmer Wong Seng Yee - in their quest to secure victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election on Jan 26.
As the by-election campaign passed the halfway mark yesterday (Sunday), top leaders from PH and BN are expected to increase their trips to the hill station in the next few days as they build up the momentum ahead of polling day on Saturday.
While PH and BN hit the ground running after nomination day on Jan 12, both Salehuddin and Wong took a break on Jan 13 and only kicked off their campaign on Jan 14. This has, in turn, raised questions on their seriousness to contest the parliamentary seat, which has 32,008 registered voters.
Political analyst and law lecturer Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood, from the International Islamic University, has described the by-election as a two-horse race between BN and PH with both independent candidates having a slim chance of causing an upset.
He said the by-election is a straight contest between BN and PH and in the final week of the campaign, both candidates will intensify efforts to woo voters and clearly lay out their plans for the constituency.
“Both the BN and PH candidates seem to be focusing on the Orang Asli because matters concerning the community are described as a major issue.
"However, they should not ignore the Malay community as they make up 34 per cent of the voters but since Pas has teamed up with BN, there is a likelihood that a majority of Pas supporters will throw in their lot with BN.
“The candidates must utilise the last seven days of their campaign to sort out issues concerning the Orang Asli. The Indian voters might end up being the trump card in the by-election and not much has been heard on plans to win over the Indian voters,” he told the New Straits Times.
Nik Ahmad said he found it strange that PH was not making any promises during the campaign as voters would usually expect some “good news” and this could be seen as a tactical move that may work in favour of PH.
Meanwhile, Universiti Utara Malaysia political and international studies senior lecturer Md Shukri Shuib said laying out plans to tackle local issues in the next few days will be crucial in determining where the votes will go.
“Both PH and BN candidates represent parties which are ruling the federal government and state government respectively, so they should be able to look into the issues from a bigger perspective and provide solutions rather than merely acknowledging the existence of such problems.
"On the issue of flash floods, for example, the candidates must micromanage the problem so that voters feel confident with a certain candidate.
“The first week of campaigning saw candidates weaving through narrow roads to meet Orang Asli voters and the final week will see the presence of several top leaders which will certainly spice up the campaign.
"At the moment, the campaign is quite balanced and both sides have an equal chance... the final lap of the campaign ahead of polling day will be crucial,” he said.
A Pas party insider said the 3,000-odd votes the party gained in the 14th General Election will certainly go to Ramli, while BN is also set to receive a higher percentage of Orang Asli votes in the by-election.
“The Orang Asli are upset by the remarks made by PH leaders and damage control efforts over the past one week including bringing PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to meet the Orang Asli did not help pacify them," he said.