Diamond Bay the fight to watch
As Mah faces Nga, Dr Ahmad ups the ante in the silver state
IPOH: It’s no exaggeration to say that here in the silver state, it’s the Diamond Bay that the entire country is watching out for.
The Teluk Intan fight is seen mainly to be between Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong and state DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming, though there are rumblings on the ground not to discount PAS’ Dr Ahmad Ramadzan Ahmad Daud from the equation.
Based on sentiments there, Mah has performed his duty admirably since wresting back the seat from DAP after the 2014 by-election where he defeated Dyana Sofea Mohd Daud.
Many residents felt that Mah had worked hard to resolve local issues such as the upgrading of the river bund to minimise flash floods.
But to the local Chinese community, especially among businessmen, they are caught in a quandary.
And the majority of young voters and those returning from outstation will likely be crossing the “X” for Nga.
Word on the ground is that Dr Ahmad Ramadzan is quite popular with the Malays, so he can be seen as a “spoiler”.
Another big fight on the cards is in Kampar whereby MCA’s Datuk Lee Chee Leong will face DAP’s Thomas Su Keong Siong and PAS’ M. Yougan.
Lee, a former Kampar MP who was defeated in the last election,
hopes to regain the seat from DAP. He was defeated by Dr Ko Chung Sen, who is now contesting the Kepayang state seat.
A resident, who declined to be named, believes that Lee has a slightly upper hand over Su, whom
many local folk see as the parachute candidate.
“In the last election, there are incidences where voters crossed ‘X’ for the Opposition for the state seats and Barisan for the parliamentary seats.
“I think there will be more of such voting pattern this time,” he said, adding that Lee is popular, especially among the senior citizens.
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman political science lecturer Teh Boon Teck, however, warned that if the turnout is high, Lee’s chance might diminish.
“These voters will disregard Lee’s contributions to the community as they are not staying in Kampar. Their concern will be on national issues,” he said.
On the three-cornered fight for Tanjung Malim between MCA’s Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, PKR’s Chang Lih Kang and PAS’ Mohd Tarmizi Abd Rahman, Teh said:
“Tanjung Malim is supposedly a stronghold for Barisan and voters are mostly from the Malay community.
“If they fail to secure Tanjung Malim, it means Barisan could lose in other traditional Umno seats too,” he said.
Teh said from his observation throughout the campaigning period, there seemed to be a significant rise of support towards Pakatan, though he felt that Barisan would pull through.
“But if the turnout rate is 85% or higher, Pakatan stands a high chance of winning,” he said.
As for Pakatan ceramah that had seen huge crowds, Teh said the Barisan machinery on the ground was more effective.
On the battle between DAP’s constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari, Barisan’s Tony Khoo Boon Chuan and PAS’ Mazlan Md Isa for the Tebing Tinggi state seat, Teh felt that DAP had the edge.
This was an urban seat dominated by opposition supporters, he said.