Melaka’s Alor Gajah ward seen as bellwether for Malaysia election

ALOR GAJAH, Melaka - Malaysia’s three main coalitions are keeping an eye on Alor Gajah in Melaka because the election outcome in this semi-urban constituency will be representative of the political landscape nationwide.

The ward is viewed as a barometer of voter sentiment, as its racial demographics closely mirror the country’s ethnic make-up.

The 93,300-strong electorate comprises more than 62 per cent Malays, 23 per cent Chinese voters and close to 13 per cent Indians.

Saturday’s four-cornered fight involves Perikatan Nasional’s Redzuan Yusof, also the incumbent MP; Umno information chief and deputy youth chief Shahril Hamdan on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) ticket; Melaka’s former chief minister and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Adly Zahari; and Gerakan Tanah Air coalition’s Muhammad Nazriq Abdul Rahman.

Umno’s Mr Shahril, who is running in the constituency for the first time, said the party needs to bag seats like Alor Gajah as this would indicate how BN performs in the rest of the country. “Umno cannot depend on winning in seats with an electorate that comprises more than 80 per cent Malay voters if the party wants to move forward in Malaysia, he told The Straits Times on Monday.

“Relying on the Malay belt is not going to work for the party. This shouldn’t be our path to secure the future,” he added.

Meanwhile, PH’s Mr Adly said Mr Shahril is seen as an outsider in Alor Gajah and would face difficulty in winning the seat as more time is needed for voters to accept him.

“This is an advantage for Pakatan Harapan because the party is banking on its previous loyal constituents that voted for the opposition alliance in GE14,” he said, referring to the 2018 general election.

“Our strategy to win the Alor Gajah seat is through higher voter turnout, focusing on half of the Malay voters that work outside of Melaka as well as Chinese and Indian voters.

Alor Gajah had been a BN stronghold since 1974, until the coalition lost the seat for the first time to PH in the 2018 vote. But last year’s state polls indicated a shift in Melaka’s voter attitudes towards BN, which won the Alor Gajah state seat and regained control of the state.

Constituents told ST that BN candidates had impressed them the most for meeting residents and listening to their problems.

Kampung Baru Menggong community leader Ismail Abdul Rahman noted that the PN and PH candidates have not been involved in the residents’ welfare or development of the village. “They have not helped us in any way and we feel our concerns are not heard. They didn’t even build one drain when they were in power,” he said.

Since BN won the state election last year, it has started to upgrade the village’s drainage system, which is slated to be completed in November, Mr Ismail said.

“Our village has very few supporters of Pakatan Harapan as we have not even seen the candidates coming to have a two-way communication with constituents. You can say that in a family of four, only one might support the opposition alliance,” he added.

An Indian voter who gave his name as Mr Sara, 37, said he voted for PH in the last election but is considering voting for BN in the upcoming election as the candidates have been engaging the residents and are willing to help them.

“Even when somebody dies in our village, we have seen our BN candidate coming to pay their respects and asking us if we need any help. But for other candidates, we have not even seen them since Pakatan Harapan became the ruling party in 2018,” he told ST.

However, there are PH loyalists such as bakery owner Mr Lee, who dismissed BN and PN as championing the Malay Muslim cause for their own political mileage. The Chinese community does not benefit from voting for these coalitions, said the 55-year-old, who did not want to give his full name.

“We know that Malaysia is a Muslim country, but what some political leaders imply to the public is that other races have an anti-Malay stance, which is stirring racial problems in the society. We have had enough,” he added.