No smooth sailing in Teluk Intan
Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong has laid strong groundwork in the constituency but major national issues may pose challenges for him to retain his parliamentary seat.
UNDER the sweltering heat of the midday sun last Sunday, a petite elderly woman was seen trailing Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong faithfully at a cocoa and pepper food festival at Menara Condong in Teluk Intan, Perak.
This event to promote the cultivation of new crops to inject more economic activity into Teluk Intan by the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry, headed by Mah, was cleverly weaved into the minister’s pre-election campaign programmes.
As the VIP was led from one stall to another under the stifling heat to taste chocolates made from cocoa and seafood with Sarawak pepper, the woman was also seen at every stop.
But the Teluk Intan resident was not there for the free food. She was keen to have a glimpse of Mah until the very moment he left.
“He has already shaken hands with me. I know his grandfather. His grandfather worked very hard in plantations and became very rich,” said the woman when approached by Sunday Star.
“His grandfather was very frugal. But he gave out a lot of money to others,” she whispered in Hokkien, as her eyes wandered about to ensure none of the 20 campaign workers wearing “Team Mah Siew Keong” shirts knew she had let out a “secret”.
She was not alone in praising Mah’s late grandfather Datuk Seri Mah Pooi Soon, a philanthropist who had built a library and an old folk’s home in Teluk Intan.
Other local folk recall the late Mah as a pioneer in oil palm cultivation in Teluk Intan, now covered with 60% of oil palm plantations and smaller estates. Sime Darby and United Plantations are prominent players there.
Being a descendant of a respectable family has endeared Mah to the folk in this quiet and clean town.
However, family background is not the main reason for Mah’s popularity.
The president of Gerakan, a member of Barisan Nasional, has inherited the family’s DNA by working very hard in the constituency which he re-captured in a by-election in May 2014.
When the 56-year-old politician with three foreign academic degrees is not in Kuala Lumpur to attend to ministerial duties, he is in his hometown planning development projects and addressing people’s concerns.
“Datuk Seri Mah has served his kawasan (constituency) well. I believe more Chinese are supporting him in this election,” says Tan Sri Kong Cho Ha, a former Transport Minister, who lives in nearby Sitiawan.
One of Mah’s campaign managers tells Sunday Star that the latest survey shows Mah will win with a greater majority and with more support from the Chinese.
Fighting for more Chinese support is crucial for Mah, as this ethnic group is known to be anti-Barisan and had habitually voted for the Opposition. This factor contributed to Mah’s loss in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
In the last election, Chinese accounted for 42% of the elector- ate, while Malays made up 38% and Indians 20%.
Back then, Barisan took only 15% of the popular vote from the Chinese due mainly to their anger against corruption, racism and religious extremism.
But there is a visible change among the Chinese in Teluk Intan now.
More are willing to share their political stand and who they will vote for.
Mah’s huge contribution in improving the lives and well-being of the local community has managed to turn a die-hard DAP supporter around into voting for him in the coming general election.
“I am anti-Barisan. I voted for DAP’s pretty girl in the last round,” says a Chinese physician, who was detained under the Internal Security Act in the 1990s.
(This was in reference to Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, the gorgeous DAP candidate who was defeated by Mah in the 2014 by-election by a 238-vote majority. He polled 20,157 votes, as opposed to her 19,919.)
“But I am going to vote for Mah Siew Keong this time as he has shown he is a good minister and politician. Candidates who are good must be given support. We cannot remove them just because they are in Barisan,” says the Chinese physician.
While his views may not represent the views of other former political detainees, he belongs to a growing group of voters who reject DAP’s strategy to “kill” top Chinese leaders in the Government by fielding strong DAP candidates to contest against them.
The medical practitioner, who declined to be named, says: “Mah Siew Keong continued to serve Teluk Intan even after he lost in the 2013 general election. I respect him for that.”
A renovation contractor, after openly discussing politics with two friends at a food court, says: “In the past, we have seen DAP politicians – whether they had lost or won – come and go.
“But Mah is a local. He is back every week to help solve people’s problems. After he became minister, he began tackling the flood problems along our river.”
According to Mah, the work on the first phase of the flood mitigation programme that included building a bund along Perak River will be completed in two months. The second phase will start soon, with the third in the pipeline.
“These projects are important as Teluk Intan used to have regular floods. There was also not enough water for industries.
“Now with the water problem being addressed, biomass and glove factories have come in,” said Mah while taking a break from his string of activities last Sunday.
Other noticeable changes in this formerly isolated town include a gas pipeline being built to serve industries, Federal nod to connect the area to the soon-to-be completed West Coast Expressway, and a university being set up.
“All these activities will create jobs and generate revenue for Teluk Intan.
“Before this, many of our young people did not have jobs. That’s why I am positive about this constituency,” said Mah who was at the Mastan Ghani restaurant before rushing off to attend an Indian wedding held at a Chinese school.
Mah is also known to be a devoted national leader.
A Chinese daily reported that he nearly missed his family’s Chinese New Year’s eve reunion dinner due to his official trip to Europe to persuade EU nations not to impose sanctions against Malaysian palm oil.
As a politician, Mah has shown his skills. Ahead of the election, he deftly introduced into Teluk Intan the Federal Government’s new Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat programme that sees food and daily necessities being sold at 50% below market price twice a month.
This programme is very popular with Malay villagers and the lower income group as the cost of living is suffocating many of them.
When Mah was checking the prices of fish and goods sold at Dataran Pasar Selasa last Sunday, many residents happily shook hands with him.
Just observing the way he is campaigning in the Chinese, Malay and Indian areas, there is no doubt this humble man is well-liked and respected in his constituency.
Despite his popularity in Teluk Intan and the impactful work he has done, which is well-publicised by his efficient team, it is too early to be overly optimistic for this politician who graduated from Britain.
There are national issues such as corruption, 1MDB, rising cost of living, racism and religious extremism that he may have to deal with.
And the speedy tabling of Bills on the redelineation of seats and fake news in the Dewan Rakyat last week will make Mah’s situation even more difficult.
At the local level, DAP’s strength on the ground cannot be dismissed even though the support rating of Mah has gone up.
In a recent report, Sin Chew Daily’s local journalist opined that Mah will emerge victor in this election.
In the 2013 polls, DAP’s Seah Leong Peng – though parachuted from outside – thrashed Barisan by a majority of 7,313 votes.
Back in the 2014 by-election, Dyana Sofya of DAP was a new face in politics, yet she lost by only 238 votes to Mah.
“Mah is a good person, but he is with Barisan. After 60 years of Barisan rule, we hope to have a clean government, a just and fair society for all,” says Chang Kok Lim, assistant to DAP state assemblyman Terence Naidu.
Due to DAP’s “kill-all” election strategy, Mah is expected to meet a formidable heavyweight from DAP as his opponent.
And DAP politicians, such as multilingual veteran Lim Kit Siang and Perak chairman Nga Kor Ming, are known to be vociferous and provocative speakers at political rallies.
However, the mild-mannered Mah is unfazed.
“Because of all that we have done, we will give our opponent a good fight. We are hopeful. We will not give up the fight, whoever my opponent is,” he says.
While Malay votes in the kampung (villages) were “political fixed deposit” for Barisan in the past, this theory no longer holds water.
Malay political allegiance is split since former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad became the head of Pakatan Harapan, aiming to oust Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“In previous elections, we could not even enter a kampung. But due to the Mahathir factor, we can now walk inside a kampung to campaign. We will have a 50-50 chance in Teluk Intan,” says Chang.
“I really like Mah Siew Keong. He works very hard and comes to visit the people often.
“But I won’t vote for him because voting for him means voting for Najib. I am prepared to give the Opposition a chance,” a Malay woman, speaking in English, tells Sunday Star at Dataran Pasar Selasa as the minister was chatting with traders.
The clean town of Teluk Intan is calm in the day and peaceful at night, with people going about in an unhurried pace. It befits the Chinese name of the town – Anson – which means peace and smooth sailing.
But as polling draws nearer, tranquillity will be lost in this constituency of more than 61,000 voters.
The intense battle for the hearts and minds of people will be tortuously rough for both the incumbent and the challenger.