On the ground: Mohd Zaidi speaking to supporters in Permatang Pauh. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
BUKIT MERTAJAM: Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Zaid never understands the rush-hour bottleneck jams that strike Permatang Pauh almost daily while his backyard still looks like the “backwaters of Penang”.
This is because he feels that time has stood still in Permatang Pauh.
“Do you see any new roads, new schools or at least a plan to alleviate the horrendous traffic jams to Penang Bridge every morning?” asked the Barisan Nasional candidate fondly known as Chegu Zaidi.
“Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his family members were elected representatives here for 40 years since 1982 and every term the people pick them. Why are we still the backwaters of Penang?
“Look at our neighbouring constituency of Kepala Batas, how the roads are, the modern buildings.
“We are still travelling on roads built five decades ago. Our children are still studying in schools built more than 20 years ago,” he lamented.
Mohd Zaidi has been campaigning against the “Anwar family” for many years.
As the Permatang Pauh Umno division head, he first stood against Nurul Izzah Anwar in 2018 and lost the seat when he polled 19,866 votes against her 35,534 votes.
“We are on the offensive this time around as people must see that Pakatan Harapan, especially PKR, has only created nepotism, shackling the people into showing loyalty to Anwar’s family.
“What did we get in return? Nothing in terms of development and progress. Nurul Izzah is everywhere but not in Permatang Pauh, not even when we get the floods.
“Things have changed. Today, we can go into areas which are Pakatan strongholds and have operation centres,” he said.
He read an air of discontent and disillusionment among Permatang Pauh voters because “Pakatan keeps dreaming of Putrajaya and forgets about their own constituencies”.
“I was born and bred here and I know every nook and corner of the kampung and the roads. If I win, I want to transform Permatang Pauh into a modern hub, with priority on new roads which would give alternative routes to industrial areas and Penang Bridge.
“The number of voters in Permatang Pauh has increased from 84,000 to 107,000 because of young voters and they need development more than ever,” said Mohd Zaidi.
While PKR had won the seat on an average of 10,000 votes in every election since 1999, there was a shaky round when Anwar’s wife Datuk Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail won only by 590 votes in the 2004 general election.
