Malaysia GE2022: Bigwigs battle it out in Perak, as voters pine for political stability amid economic woes

IPOH — The state of Perak, located along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is one of the key states to watch in Malaysia's 15th General Election (GE), being the battleground for leaders from both sides of the political aisle.

Among them is Leader of Opposition Anwar Ibrahim, the chairman of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president, who has chosen to stand for elections in Tambun, which was won in 2018 by a candidate of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

Bersatu was a component party of the PH coalition, but broke away in 2020 to form the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.

Over in Bagan Datuk, United Malays National Organisation (Umno) president and Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be defending his seat which he has held since 1995, in a four-corner fight which includes the son of a former deputy prime minister.

TODAY, which is reporting on the ground from Perak, spoke to experts and residents to get the lowdown on the things to watch out for in the Silver State in the upcoming polls on Nov 19.

WHY PERAK IS A HOTLY CONTESTED STATE

Mr Adib Zalkapli, a director at Bower Asia Group, said Perak is a swing state, having been ruled by the opposition until it fell to BN in 2013 before returning to the hands of PH in 2018.

Dr Meredith Weiss, a political expert and visiting senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), agreed, saying: “This is an area in which we have all the parties contesting quite avidly and having really strong claims to different parts of the state."

Dr Weiss also pointed out that Perak, as with other states in the west coast, is more developed than some states in the East coast.

The state also has “a much more multicultural, multi-ethnic mix” that distinguishes its electorate than in some parts of Malaysia, she added.

Dr Weiss separately said that BN's machinery is more adept to working the rural electorates, while communal politics are less effective among a more diverse set of voters.  

KEY SEATS AND CANDIDATES TO WATCH

Experts identified two hot seats in the state, namely Bagan Datuk in the south-west and Tambun, just east of Ipoh.

Bagan Datuk

Bagan Datuk is considered a stronghold for Umno President and BN chairman Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the incumbent MP since 1995.

He won the 2018 elections with a 5,073 vote majority, defeating Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (Pas) and PKR candidates.

Besides the incumbent, three other candidates vying for the support of over 58,000 registered voters are representatives of PH and PN coalitions as well as an independent candidate.

Representing PH is former PKR Youth Chief, Shamsul Iskandar, described by local media as the ‘giant killer’ for notably toppling Melaka chief minister Tun Mohd Ali Rustam in 2013.

PN is fielding Dr Muhammad Faiz Na’aman, supreme council member of Bersatu.

Tawfik Tun Ismail, the son of former deputy prime minister the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, will join in the contestation as an independent candidate.

“(Ahmad Zahid) represents the scourge of Malaysia, especially the way corruption has eaten away the dignity of our rakyat. I cannot stand by and let that happen,” he was quoted as saying, in explaining his motivation to run for elections.

Tambun

Incumbent for the Tambun seat is Bersatu’s deputy president and its state chairman, Mr Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

The caretaker Minister for Youth and Sports won the 2018 elections with 5,320 majority votes, when Bersatu was under the PH coalition. The party left PH to form PN in a political manouver in 2020 known as the Sheraton Move.

Mr Ahmad Faizal faces opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who moved from his Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan seat to contest in Tambun.

Mr Adib of Bower Asia Group said that Mr Anwar’s move was likely aimed at creating “a new safe seat” for the opposition, mimicking a strategy deployed by Democratic Action Party (DAP) in a previous election.

Meanwhile, Umno is fielding its Perak division chief Aminuddin Md Hanafiah in this election.

Also wading into the foray is fresh face Abdul Rahim Tahir from the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition.

The 34-year-old Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) member told TODAY in a sit-down interview after his official nomination that he views his freshness in the political scene as an advantage, saying that he felt the electorate would want to give someone with a “clean slate” the opportunity to hold office.

KEY ISSUES AT PLAY

Analysts and residents whom TODAY spoke to identified economic issues, such as cost of living and job prospects, as being top of mind for voters.

Economic concerns

Mr Adib of Bower Asia Group said that economic issues is a universal concern, given that Malaysia, like most other countries, is still recovering from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A retail business owner in Ipoh who only wanted to be known as Mr Loh, 26, agreed, saying: “Cost of living is important for us businesses, as it affects consumer spending appetite."

Meanwhile, a 24-year-old student who wanted to be known as Syaf said: “I’m living with my parents now, so I don’t really feel the pinch of high prices. So I’m more worried about job opportunities after graduating later."

Political stability

At least three out of a dozen Perak residents TODAY spoke to said that political stability is important for them.

A resident of Taman Meru, Ipoh, Mr Mohd Mahathir Mohd Salleh, for example, acknowledged that a revolving door government would not be able to focus on handling economic issues.

However, the 40-year-old stall owner at a night market said that to the layman, the impact of the latter is more directly felt in their lives.

Some voters said they did not care much for political issues, such as politicians switching party membership or parties moving from one coalition to another, as long as the economy improves.

“I don’t care who forms the government as long as the economy improves," said Ipoh resident Fong Kok Keong, 59. 

"I don’t expect it to change overnight, but as long as it changes little by little, that is what the rakyat wants.”

Approachability and accessibility of MP

Residents also expect the elected MP to be present and accessible for them to seek help from.

A 77-year-old Ipoh resident, Mr Ramesh Kumar, noted how his MP was very active in reaching out to constituents and giving aid to those in need, in particular at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.