SEMENYIH: Candidates in the Semenyih state by-election are campaigning at a frantic pace, reaching into every nook and cranny of the constituency canvassing for support ahead of Saturday’s polls.
Besides the face-to-face approach, they are making use
of mobile campaign vehicles,
“ceramah” (political talk) as
well as casual gatherings to get their message across – all with increased frequency over the past few days.
The two-week campaign has also been marked by the presence of political top guns becoming more pronounced at the tail end of the period in a bid to clinch the state seat in a contest widely seen as mainly between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN), specifically Umno.
PH, for instance, has lined up the government coalition’s chairman and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for a “ceramah Perdana” (premier political talk) scheduled for Thursday night at Taman Pelangi here to drum up support for its candidate, 30-year-old engineer, Muhammad Aiman Zainali.
Not to be outdone, a similar
talk jointly organised by Umno
and PAS, featuring their big
wigs, will also take place
tomorrow.
Muhammad Aiman, who is also Bersatu Hulu Langat treasurer, was upbeat about the level of support for him and PH that he had seen so far.
“We are focusing on going all out in the two remaining days of the campaign. We will go to all villages, flats and markets and we want to meet as many voters as possible. That’s our objective,” he said.
The political newcomer also has the advantage of the constant presence of PH deputy president and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as well as PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali who have been tireless in campaigning for PH and Muhammad Aiman since day one.
Muhammad Aiman is in a four-cornered contest against Zakaria Hanafi (BN), Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul (Parti Sosialis Malaysia – PSM)) and Independent Kuan Chee Heng.
Asked about his chances of victory in the by-election, Zakaria said he would leave it to the voters to determine.
“We explain as best as we can. The voters make the evaluation. That’s all we can do,” he said.
Political analyst Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani sees a 50-50 chance for PH and BN to win the by-election.
According to him, the campaign has largely been about local development and criticism against the government besides personal attacks and racial and religious issues.
“The racial and religious issues will have an impact but some people will look at the economic and development issues in making their decision,” he said.
Meanwhile, PSM candidate Nik Aziz Afiq said he would work hard to penetrate the turf of PH and BN supporters.
He said that though his political rivals had brought in top guns to campaign, it is the voters who make the final decision that will have an impact on their lives.
As for Kuan, a social activist, he will continue with his welfare work for the needy whether he wins or not.
The Semenyih seat fell vacant following the death of the
PH assemblyman, Bakhtiar Mohd Nor of Bersatu, on Jan 11. – Bernama
