The incumbent: Ahmad Faizal meeting voters during a campaign trail at a night market at Taman Perpaduan in Ipoh. — Bernama
IPOH: The 15th General Election (GE15) spotlight in Perak will be squarely on the Tambun parliamentary seat.
A titanic battle is taking place with incumbent MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who is Bersatu deputy president, facing Pakatan Harapan chairman and Prime Minister candidate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Also in the fray is Umno’s Tambun division chairman Datuk Aminuddin Md Hanafiah and Abdul Rahim Tahir from Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA).
Anwar had previously said he would contest in a seat held by a “traitor” to send a message that acts of betrayal would not be tolerated.
Ahmad Faizal and Bersatu, formerly with Pakatan before the Sheraton Move, had switched sides to team up with Umno and PAS to form the Federal Government in 2020.
The move also saw the collapse of the Perak government led by Pakatan.
While many had initially predicted that Anwar would stand in Gombak against his one-time protege Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, it was a surprise the PKR president chose to stand in Tambun instead.
In GE14, Ahmad Faizal defeated Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah and Muhamad Zulkifli Mohamad Zakaria of PAS by a 5,320 majority.
Ahmad Faizal, who is the current state Perikatan Nasional chairman, had polled 38,661 while Ahmad Husni got 33,341 votes and Muhamad Zulkifli (14,948).
But make no mistake, the former Perak mentri besar’s victory was largely due to the votes from Pakatan supporters and also some internal issues within Umno.
The contender: Anwar (left) listening to the plight of farmers on their crops in Tambun. — RONNIE CHIN/The Star
This time round, Ahmad Faizal can no longer count on their votes.
According to the Perak Election Commission, Tambun has about 160,000 voters.
About 86,000 of them will be from the Manjoi state seat while the rest will be from Hulu Kinta.
A senior politician from Ipoh, who declined to be named, believes that the battle in Tambun is between Pakatan and Barisan.
“Tambun has been Umno’s stronghold for many years before the political tsunami in 2018.
“They have a good foundation and supporters there,” he said.
“As for PKR and Anwar, they will fight hard with most of their resources being pumped there to try and secure support for their prime minister candidate,” he added.
Even he found it hard to predict the winner, especially with the first time, young voters.
“There is practically no information on their voting patterns.
“Some may just go out and simply tick a box while some may not even come out to vote,” he said, adding that the youngsters could be the kingmakers for GE15, as hundreds of them, which may not seem like much in a large constitution like Tambun, could swing the results either way.
“In any multi-cornered fights, votes will be split. And if another smaller party is contesting there, there goes another few hundred votes,” he added.
As for the other federal constituencies, especially those held by Bersatu’s incumbents, including Larut (Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin) and Bukit Gantang (Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal), the multi-cornered fights there are also expected to be close.
Seats to watch: Hamzah (left) will be contesting in Larut while Zahid will fight for Bagan Datuk.
A political observer believes that the majority of the voters do not favour them.
“The sentiment on the ground, especially the voters in the respective constituencies, are not happy with them because they are seen as traitors to Umno.
“Hamzah has a chance but it will be tough for him. He can only rely on PAS’ election machinery and support,” he added.
Hamzah will square off against Pakatan’s Zolkarnain Abidin, Barisan’s Mohd Shafiq Fhadly Mahmud and GTA’s Awzey Fazlan Sahidi, while Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz is up against Barisan’s Mohammad Sollehin Mohamad Tajie, Pakatan’s Fakhruldin Mohd Hashim and Mohd Shukri Mohd Yusoff of GTA.
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman political science lecturer Teh Boon Teck is of the view that Bersatu MPs would have much to lose during GE15.
“Perikatan just does not have that wow factor and no credible leaders from the state to go against Barisan or Pakatan.
“I believe that the real battle will remain between Barisan and Pakatan,” he said.
Teh said that promises made in the Budget 2023 could favour Barisan.
“Some people may think that they will lose these benefits outlined in the budget if they chose Pakatan,” he said.
He cited examples such as the one-off aid of RM2,500 for households that earn less than RM2,500 and with five or more children and the RM150 Early Schooling Aid for all pupils regardless of their parents’ income level.
Among the other seats to watch included Bagan Datuk, Lumut and Tanjung Malim.
In Bagan Datuk, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will take on Pakatan’s Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, Perikatan’s Muhammad Faiz Na’aman and Independent Tawfik Ismail.
Traditionally an Umno stronghold, Shamsul Iskandar will be facing an uphill task to unseat Ahmad Zahid, who has held the seat for six terms.
In Lumut, incumbent Datuk Mohd Hatta Md Ramli will defend his seat against Barisan’s Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Nordin Ahmad Ismail of Perikatan and GTA’s Mazlan Abdul Ghani.
In Tanjung Malim, Chang Lih Kang from PKR will defend the seat against MCA’s Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi of Bersatu and GTA’s Amir Hamzah Abdul Rajak.
Before Parliament was dissolved, Barisan held seven parliamentary seats (Umno six, MIC one), Perikatan had four (all Bersatu) and Pakatan 12 (Amanah two, DAP seven and PKR three).
The Gerik seat had remained vacant following the death of Umno’s Datuk Hasbullah Osman in 2020 and no by-elections were held due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the declaration of emergency.
As for the state seats, Barisan had 25 seats (all Umno), Perikatan eight (Bersatu five, PAS three), Pakatan 23 (DAP 15, Amanah five, PKR three), Parti Bangsa Malaysia two and an Independent.
As of Oct 20, the total registered voters in the state stood at 2,036,872.
From the number, about 526,000 are new voters, which included 111,800 who are aged between 18 and 20.
