Even with tents and stage set up, only a trickle of people showed up at Chaw’s ceramah in the interior Sabah district of Tenom.
TENOM: Peggy Chaw, Malaysia’s youngest parliamentary candidate in the 15th General Election (GE15), struggles to attract crowds to attend her ceramah.
On Tuesday (Nov 15), she set up tents and a makeshift stage for the ceramah at noon while volunteers were seen packing food. However, only a trickle of people came.
“We just wanted to see how the situation is here.
“We go to every ceramah anyway,” said an elderly man who was among the very small audience at the event in Taman Tan Sen here.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Chaw said she was nervous about going up on stage and delivering her speech.
Despite that, Chaw was taking it in her stride.
The physiotherapy student is caught in a battle between two giants while trying to ensure she does not lose her deposit.
The heavyweight contenders she is facing off against are the incumbent Noorita Sual (Pakatan Harapan) and Jamawi Jaafar (Barisan Nasional).
This contest — in Sabah’s interior — has also seen a groundswell of support for independent Riduan Rubin who is the son of Kemabong assemblyman Rubin Balang.
The other candidate vying for the parliamentary seat is Ukim Buandi (Warisan).
Chaw, who is using the tractor symbol in GE15, admitted that preparations were everything.
She said she would not let the challenges break her spirit, instead taking it as a lesson.
“I would advise my peers, the younger generation who have the intention to fight in future elections to be fully prepared.
“Even if I have to face tough situations while campaigning, I think it’s just a part of politics. Youths shouldn’t quit,” she added.
Chaw came into the picture after her father’s bid to be nominated failed due to some technical issues.
She added that her manifesto would include driving the agricultural economy of the constituency forward.
