Disgruntled Malay voters could spring a surprise on DAP candidate

GEORGE TOWN: After 10 days of lacklustre campaign, voters in Bukit Gelugor will head to the polling booth tomorrow.

Although it was touted to be a walk in the park for political debutant Ramkarpal Singh, 38, events in the last few days may spring a surprise on the bachelor.

If he secures a win which is less than his late father Karpal Singh’s 41,778-vote majority, it will spell a blow for the party, especially since Barisan Nasional has stayed out of the contest.

Ramkarpal had publicly said that he wanted a bigger majority on the back of his father’s reputation as a fearless fighter and the wave of public sympathy upon Karpal’s sudden death.

But things have spiralled out of hand and some of the Malay votes which went to his father may now go to Independent candidates Abu Backer Sidek Mohammad Zan and Mohd Nabi Bux Mohd Nabi Abdul Sathar who are championing the Malay cause and PAS’ hudud.

Provocative banners have come up in Malay areas targeting Seri Delima assemblyman

R.S.N. Rayer, asking Malays to reject Rayer for his “Umno celaka” remarks aimed at three Umno leaders.

The banners have also asked Malay voters to reject Ramkarpal for opposing hudud.

Malay voters comprised 14.5% of the 82,041 voters in the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat.

Rayer’s Seri Delima seat is one of the three in Bukit Gelugor with others being Air Itam and Paya Terubong. All are held by DAP assemblymen.

Malay voters comprise 22.6% of the 23,891 voters in Seri Delima, with many of them staying in Kampung Gelugor and Taman Tun Sardon.

In Air Itam, 21.2% of the 18,451 voters are Malays with a big number staying in the Kampung Melayu flats. There are only 6.5% Malay voters in Paya Terubong.

Independent candidate Huan Cheng Guan of Parti Cinta Malaysia has appealed to voters to let him keep his deposit this time around after having lost it twice before.

He has put up billboards saying “I am not a tiger or a cub but the voice of the people”.

He has embarked on an aggressive campaign, launching many salvos against DAP for fielding a candidate who only recently joined the party.

The campaign has been heated with more illegal banners put up in several areas and the defacing of campaign billboards.