IPOH: Various “big guns” are expected to help in canvassing support for the contesting candidates, taking the political temperature a notch higher as the campaigning enters the final lap.
Some of the bigwigs for Barisan Nasional’s candidate Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir include PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is expected to appear on the eve of the by-election.
A few leaders have already come to woo voters, namely Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng and MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, who is also Tapah MP.
Mohamad Yusri, who is Tapah Umno secretary, will vie for the state seat against Perikatan Nasional’s Abd Muhaimin Malek and KS Bawani of Parti Sosialis Malaysia.
As for Perikatan, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang participated in a ceramah on Saturday night, while the Islamist party’s vice-president Datuk Idris Ahmad has been actively campaigning for Abd Muhaimin since the very beginning.
According to a political observer, there are concerns about voter turnout, which could impact the outcome of the by-election.
He said some folk who are working in other cities or states may not return to vote, as they had only come back for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration and Qing Ming Festival recently.
“I believe the respective parties are working hard to reach out to them. Personally, I think Barisan’s candidate has the upper hand, given that it has been their stronghold for many years,” said the observer, who declined to be named.
He said there were some localised issues, such as street lights and infrastructure, that the state government needs to resolve to maintain support from voters.
“Another concern is the growing sentiment among the Chinese community towards protest votes.
“Barisan and Pakatan would need to look into these and prevent them from being deciding factors,” he said.
Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) senior programme manager Kamarulbahrin Zahid said he believes that Barisan will be able to bank on the votes from the Orang Asli community based on studies and surveys from recent by-elections.
“There are some similarities between Ayer Kuning and Nenggiri.
“Nenggiri has many Orang Asli, about 4,000 people, while there are over 2,000 Orang Asli voters in Ayer Kuning,” he said.
“In Nenggiri (August last year), the majority of the Orang Asli supported Barisan, and it should be the same for Ayer Kuning.
“The Orang Asli votes can be considered as fixed deposits, so Barisan won’t start from zero but with at least 2,000 votes,” he said, adding that the Orang Asli still relied on the government for aid.
“It will be a challenge for PAS to get their support.”
IDE has studied and surveyed voter sentiments in almost every by-election since the 15th General Election.
The Perak unity government currently has 32 state seats (Pakatan 24, Barisan eight), while Perikatan has 26.
According to the Election Commission, there are 31,897 eligible voters divided among 20 district polling stations. Of the total number of voters, 31,315 are normal voters, while 582 are policemen and their spouses.
Malay voters account for about 57%, followed by the Chinese (21%), Indians (14%), Orang Asli (7%), and others (1%).
By age, the largest group comprises those aged between 30 and 39, totalling 7,173 individuals, followed by those aged 40 to 49 (5,924); 21 to 29 (5,753); 50 to 59 (4,482); 60 to 69 (3,830); 70 to 79 (2,211); 18 to 20 (1,601); 80 to 89 (764); and those above 90 (159).
Polling is on April 26, while early voting is on April 22.
The by-election has been called following the death of its incumbent, Ishsam Shahruddin, in February.
