TAMBUN, Perak – Perikatan Nasional (PN) deputy chairman Faizal Azumu could be the person who finally ends Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s three-decade quest to become Malaysia’s prime minister.
But he shrugs off the weight of his task, saying opposition leader Anwar might have giant posters of himself up in Tambun, but the man himself is not a giant.
“To me, he’s just a name, he’s just another leader,” Datuk Seri Faizal told The Straits Times on the sidelines of his campaign trail.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) president Anwar is staking his future on the semi-urban seat of Tambun, where he has never contested, as part of PH’s strategy of making Perak its front-line state.
But Mr Faizal, a former Perak chief minister and local boy who broke Barisan Nasional’s seven-term stranglehold on the parliamentary seat in 2018, will be a formidable opponent.
When asked if he can be the one to end Mr Anwar’s political ambitions, Mr Faizal said: “I think we have a fair chance. He knows he is facing some tough times in Tambun. If he was very confident, he wouldn’t put up posters of that size.”
He himself has put up witty billboards that highlight Mr Anwar’s northern roots and outsider status. These have deflected discourse on Mr Faizal’s status as one of the dozens of lawmakers who defected from the PH coalition in February 2020, after winning their seats in 2018 under the PH banner.
When confronted on Nomination Day by his rival’s supporters, who called him a “traitor”, he responded by flashing a Korean heart sign with his fingers, saying he has “nothing but love for them”.
After his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia defected, candidates from the Malay nationalist party were expected to face voter backlash in this election for their part in the PH government’s collapse.
But Mr Faizal pointed to the reception he has received from meetings with the Indian and Chinese minority communities in Perak as signs that he has assuaged the electorate’s anger over the betrayal.
“These are all my old friends, some my father’s, so I don’t feel awkward at all,” he said after a Chinese clan association dinner, where he received applause for literally taking centre stage with a troupe of singers. “This is the kind of politics we want to remain for a long time,” he added, referring to the kasih sayang (affection in Malay) he wanted to have with Tambun’s voters.
The battle in the town just outside Ipoh has taken on greater significance with Mr Anwar being PH’s designated prime minister candidate.
PN bigwigs, including caretaker minister Azmin Ali, chairman Muhyiddin Yassin and Kedah chief minister Sanusi Nor, left programmes in their own constituencies to descend on Tambun in support of Mr Faizal. Their presence also signals their intention to end what could be Mr Anwar’s last shot at the PM post.
PN’s prime minister candidate Muhyiddin, who was given top billing at a Tambun event on Sunday, backed his Bersatu deputy Faizal as not just a giant-killer but also a “giant” himself. Meanwhile, Mr Sanusi said Mr Faizal will “bury” the “morally bankrupt” opposition leader in Tambun, referring to Mr Anwar’s previous imprisonment for sodomy and corruption, charges which he has said were politically motivated.
Mr Faizal, a former Perak chief minister and caretaker youth and sports minister, is a popular figure known locally by his nickname Peja, and is adept at playing to the crowd. At rallies, he is often greeted with cheers of “Hidup Peja”, or “Long live Peja”.
“Mindblowing” is how Ms Bahvani, 18, a first-time voter, described Mr Faizal’s rally in Klebang Jaya on Thursday, which was attended by hundreds. “His speech is full of positivity, it makes me want to vote for him.”
Mr Faizal won the Tambun seat with a 5,320 majority in 2018. This year, his success will depend on the constituency’s Malay majority vote, said Dr Francis Hutchinson, senior fellow and coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
“It is likely that the bulk of the support in the seat from the Chinese and Indian voters would go to Anwar. These voters supported Faizal in 2018 when Bersatu was part of PH. Now, however, these voters would probably not want to vote for BN and would also be quite unhappy with Bersatu for the Sheraton move,” he said, referring to the defections in 2020.
“Mr Faizal’s challenge will be to retain the core of Malay voters that supported him last time, and then to make inroads into either Umno’s support or PH’s voter base. This is quite challenging.”
Competing for just a Parliament seat this time after also winning the Chenderiang state seat in 2018, Mr Faizal’s record of having “Never lost in Tambun”, the wording on one of his billboards, will be on the line come Polling Day.
