MELAKA: Long days on the ground have brought encouraging responses for Muhammad Muhaimin Lau Abdullah, but the Ayer Keroh hopeful knows the real test is whether those words will translate into votes.
The Parti Bersama Malaysia candidate said leaving home in the morning and returning late at night had become his daily routine since the party announced his candidacy in August.
"Since then, it has been all work, from meeting people to attending various community programmes to woo voters.
"I have not even left Melaka since August as my time is occupied meeting voters and telling them I am contesting," he said in an interview on Tuesday (Oct 27).
Muhammad Muhaimin, 49, acknowledged that challenging DAP in a seat it has held since 2008 would be an uphill task.
However, he said encouragement from residents during his visits had kept him going.
"Everywhere I go, voters say we must give 'Kancil' a chance because they want change.
"Hopefully, this turns into votes for the party," he said.
Bersama announced Muhammad Muhaimin's candidacy on Aug 15, giving him more than two months to introduce himself to constituents ahead of nomination day.
The lawyer, also known as Alan Lau Chee Keong, comes from a family whose roots reflect Melaka's cultural diversity.
A Muslim born into a Chinese family, he has a mother of Chinese Peranakan heritage and relatives from the Chetti community.
In an earlier interview, Muhammad Muhaimin said growing up among relatives of different faiths had made him comfortable engaging with people across communities.
He had also outlined residents' welfare and meaningful development as priorities for his campaign.
Muhammad Muhaimin said he expected Perikatan Nasional to announce its candidate for Ayer Keroh on Oct 29.
He said he was prepared to continue working hard regardless of the eventual line-up, expressing confidence that voters would consider the individuals seeking to represent them.
"I am confident that voters will cast their votes based on who the candidate is, and not the party," he said.
DAP's Kerk Chee Yee is defending Ayer Keroh after being named in Pakatan Harapan's candidate line-up on Oct 24.
Kerk first won the constituency in 2018, succeeding fellow DAP leader Khoo Poay Tiong, who represented it for two terms after winning the seat in 2008.
In the 2021 state election, Kerk secured 9,459 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional's Yong Fun Juan, who polled 3,835, and Perikatan's Michael Gan Peng Lam, who received 2,479. Kerk retained the seat with a majority of 5,624 votes.
Muhammad Muhaimin previously put Ayer Keroh's electorate at about 36,000, with Malays accounting for 43.8%, Chinese 43.5%, Indians 7.5% and other communities 5.2%.
The Election Commission has fixed Oct 31 for nomination, Nov 10 for early voting and Nov 14 for polling.
