STRERAM FACES UPHILL BATTLE
Analyst says Indian voters may be the kingmakers
PAKATAN Harapan candidate Dr S. Streram said on Saturday that he was the underdog in the Rantau by-election against Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who is seeking re-election for a fourth term.
Dr Streram, however, said he was confident of winning the polls, thanks to the support he received from Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said: “The trend
shows that the non-Malays are with PH and Malays with BN.
“The kingmaker are the Indians who may be divided between Mohamad and Dr Streram.
“The Chinese, most likely, are still with PH and that is why Anwar is trying hard to persuade the Malays to support Dr Streram.”
Observers say the 63-year-old anaesthetist, who hails from Kluang, Johor, needs to win not only the support of the non-Malay voters, but also a small segment of the Malay voters to come out on top.
Out of the 20,926 registered voters, 55.11 per cent are Malays while 27 per cent are Indians.
The Chinese make up about 18.8 per cent of the electorate.
Mohamad’s strength lies in the constituents’ familiarity with him.
The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar has held the seat since 2004.
Some Rantau folk approached say Mohamad, fondly known as Tok Mat, had brought progress to what used to be a quiet town tucked between Seremban and Port Dickson.
Despite him being in the opposition, they made it clear they were willing to vote for him to show their gratitude and appreciation for his years of service.
They said they knew little about Dr Streram despite his claim that he had served in the constituency for the past three-and-a-half years.
“Tok Mat is a local and everyone here knows him. I don’t know who Dr Streram is. We see him as an outsider,” said 63-year-old electrician Liau Chin San.
Mohd Nawi Zainal, 47, said the incoming assemblyman should consider upgrading the Rantau Health Clinic to accommodate the increasing number of patients.
“Also, the roads here are narrow but widening them is difficult because of the way this town was built,” he said, adding that traffic jams and lack of parking spots had become a perennial problem.
On whether there was a lack of public facilities, Nawi said Rantau had a public health clinic, a police station and a newly-built fire station.
“Dr Streram doesn’t know Rantau as well as Tok Mat does.
“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said there was no fire station here,” said the private sector worker.
Taxi driver T. Nathan, 55, said he would be voting for party and not the candidate this time.
“BN has been governing for many years and it’s time to give PH a chance.
“We can review their performance after five years.
“Of course, Tok Mat helped us a lot in the past but sometimes, change is good,” he said, adding that more development could come to Rantau if Dr Steram won, as he represented the ruling coalition.
Joe Lee, 29, said he hoped the new assemblyman would cater to the needs of the youth by providing them with more job opportunities, a reliable public transportation and faster Internet connection.
“Many youths had moved to Seremban and Kuala Lumpur to earn a living.
“There are few opportunities here,” said the car repair shop owner.
Tho Fook Keong, 52, described Mohamad as a generous man who cared for those in need.
“I am disabled and unable to work.
“Tok Mat bought me a threewheeled motorcycle so that I could sell ice-cream and earn a living.”
L. Subramaniam, 58, a member of the residents’ committee in Felda Sendayan, near here, said Dr Streram was relatively unknown in the Indian community.
“There are 65 Indian families out of the 500 families in Felda Sendayan. Tok Mat was instrumental in getting a piece of land for a new Tamil school in Bandar Seri Sendayan not far from here.”