BN's Sohaimi offers Sg Limau voters 'harmonious politics'

SG LIMAU BN candidate Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim wants to offer the Sg Limau constituents - whose votes he has been eyeing for the past nine days - a new approach to politics.

“It’s called harmonious politics (politik damai). The aggressive approach is not suitable these days especially with the younger generation,” Sohaimi told journalists when met at his home in Titi Batu, Mukim Sg Daun, yesterday.

“I don’t want to fight with my opponent. I send a message to the people to choose me because I am a candidate for the government. We keep our promises - you help me, I help you,” added the former Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) lecturer, who turned 53 on Oct 24, a day after he was nominated at BN candidate for Sg Limau.

The phrase ‘I help you, you help me’ was popularised by Prime Minister Najib Razak during his campaign in the 2011 Sarawak state elections.

Despite his good intentions, Najib’s opponents criticised him for patronage politics.

In Sg Limau, Sohaimi is facing PAS’ Mohd Azam Samat, 37 (centre in photo) in a straight fight, and a 12-day campaign that will end on Monday, Nov 4, polling day.

Sg Limau’s 27, 222 voters will vote for a new assemblyperson to replace former Kedah menteri besar Azizan Abdul Razak, who died on Sept 26.

But what Sohaimi also wants to offer his constituents is not a divisive kind of politics, but one that is “matured”.

Such an approach has been offered even by PAS as Sg Limau is a rural seat where families and friends who are aligned to different political parties - BN or PAS - live peacefully together.

“In a democratic system, people have the right to choose their wakil rakyat (people’s representative). People are now concerned not only about the personality but what is the government behind that person,” said the Kg Titi Batu Umno branch leader.

Sohaimi is aware that the BN government he supports can offer the people physical or material development.

However, the assemblyperson also needs to pay attention to the younger generation, which makes up a sizeable chunk (about 23 percent) of the voters bank, he said.

“As a lecturer, I can do something for humanity and that is why my approach is politik damai,” insists Sohaimi, who read for his PhD (in History) at Universiti Sains Malaysia, in 2008.

Hectic schedule

Sohaimi has been sleeping about four to five hours nightly due to his hectic schedule, which is entirely different from his days as a university lecturer.

Those days, all he was concerned about were his students and their assignments, which he had to mark daily.

“Since the campaign I have to go to the ground and meet many people. The locations from one house to another is sometimes far apart,” laments the father of six.

“Sometimes access roads into the padi fields are bad and when you finally arrive there, you are not even sure whether they will vote for you or not,” he said.

“But still you have to see them and talk to them,” he added.

How does he see his chances in Sg Limau?

Sohaimi went into this contest as an “underdog” as the seat had been under PAS for five terms since 1995.

The term “underdog” was first used by Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir to describe BN’s situation in Sg Limau as the coalition felt it had a tough challenge to wrest the seat formerly held by Azizan, who had endeared himself to the various communities when he was their assemblyperson.

Still, Sohaimi said voters had given him a good reception during his visits, including the Chinese community - about 1,800 voters - who mostly backed Pakatan Rakyat at the May 5 general election.

Despite their support, BN recaptured Kedah, thus ending PAS’ one-term rule in the northern state since 2008.

On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin (right in photo) approved a RM2.25 million allocation for three schools in the area.

“But material development is not enough, the people here also need a leader who can listen to their problems. This is also important,” said Sohaimi.

“So we promise that we will improve their situation - whether it is for better roads, housing repairs, single mothers, whether the youths need a futsal court or a football field,” he added.

“There are also a lack of job opportunities here. Ohh, indeed... there are many problems here,” he stressed.

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