PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat’s made his much-vaunted appearance in the Hulu Selangor Malay heartland of Sungai Tengi this morning with a series of ceramah calculated at winning over the Felda settlers there who are hardcore BN loyalists.

Detractors had earlier said the Kelantan menteri besar’s last-minute visit was a desperate measure by PKR to defend their candidate Zaid Ibrahim against a BN smear campaign.

hulu selangor by election felda nik aziz 240410 Instead, it appeared that the Kelantan MB’s role was to shore up support among the party faithful and to defend PAS’s alliance with PKR and DAP. The logic is not hard to follow as PAS is strongest in Malay-majority areas of Hulu Bernam.

In fact, PAS treasurer Hatta Ramli said that support for them has grown in the area with 300 PAS branches in Hulu Bernam alone.   

As such, when Nik Aziz told the audience of 400 at the Children of Felda Settlers Oganisation (Anak) event today that Islam was against gambling and the consumption of alcohol, it was not to clear Zaid’s name.  

pakatan banner in felda hulu selangor 2 His intention was to maintain PAS support in Hulu Bernam by convincing their supporters there that the party had not traded its ideals to be part of Pakatan Rakyat. Evidence of such was also seen when he hit out at Umno for painting PAS and DAP as strange bedfellows.  

“How can Umno align itself with the Israeli-linked Apco but attack us for joining forces with DAP?” he asked.

Settlers ‘debt of kindness’?

But it is left to be seen whether 79-year-old Nik Aziz’s efforts to campaign despite his poor health will produce any results as far as influencing the hardcore BN supporters in the Felda areas is concerned.  

hulu selangor by election felda crowd 240410 To begin with, most of those present to listen to Nik Aziz today were outsiders who were there to attend the Anak national convention and not locals who will be voting tomorrow.  

Some residents met said that they will still vote for BN tomorrow even after listening to Nik Aziz and participating in the Anak programme.

hulu selangor by election felda bn supporters provoke 240410 “(BN) always wins big in this area so we are quite confident that the same will happen for this by-election,” said Kampung Soeharto resident and BN supporter Aslinda Rosman.  

So strong is the support in Hulu Bernam, said a Felda settler who now resides in Pahang, that his in-laws who reside in Sungai Tengi even ‘bleed BN colours’.

Most of the older settlers remember Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s father and second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein’s contribution to Felda settlers and feel ‘obliged’ to vote BN.  

hulu selangor by election felda poster tun razak 240410 This is something BN is aware of with billboards emerging in Felda areas displaying photos of Abdul Razak along with old Malay pantun (poems) advising of ‘debts of kindness’.  

One billboard showing Abdul Razak on a rural walkabout reads: Pisang emas bawa berlayar, masak sebiji atas peti, hutang emas boleh dibayar, hutang budi dibawa mati. (A debt of gold can be paid off, but a debt of kindness is carried to the grave)

Youth vote up for grabs

Nevertheless, there are still residents who confess to be on the fence, enough to muster a swing towards PKR when the counting begins after polling ends at 5pm tomorrow.  

A man in his early 40s from Felda Gedangsa who declined to be named said that he is still mulling over the various campaign issues highlighted by both sides.  

hulu selangor by election felda zaid ibrahim 240410 “I had listened to (Information, Communications and Culture Minister) Rais Yatim speak at Gedangsa earlier this week so I came here to listen to Nik Aziz so I can get both sides of the story before deciding tomorrow,” he said.  

Potential votes also lie with the children of Felda settlers who have moved away to work but have returned this weekend to vote.  

Twenty-four-year-old first-time voter Mohd Khairul Shukri from Sungai Dusun said he was still ‘50-50' about who to vote for but indicated that he was leaning towards PKR.  

He confessed that for him and most other young voters, the character attacks on Zaid did not hold much water.  

“ pakatan banner in felda hulu selangor I have not seen him (gamble or drink) with my own eyes so I cannot make my decision based on that,” said Khairul, who is working as an electrician in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.  

It is these out-of-town voters like Mohd Khairul that Pakatan is banking on if not to secure a majority in the Felda areas then at least to get PKR across the line in this tough fight for the Hulu Selangor seat.

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