Three-term Lembah Pantai member of parliament Shahrizat Abdul Jalil believes that her good track record and her excellent relationship with the locals would work in her favour in her attempt to retain the seat in this general election.

lembah pantai 010308 shahrizat abdul jalil She said that the Lembah Pantai voters have accepted her as one of their own, knowing full well that she could be relied upon to get things done in this Malay-dominated urban Kuala Lumpur constituency.

However ground sentiments are that Shahrizat, who has faced one opposition big shot after another since her foray into electoral politics in 1995, would not have it so easy in retaining the seat on March 8.

Pitted against her are two candidates - one from PKR and another independent. And it is the PKR candidate - Nurul Izzah Anwar - who is the talk of the constituency, leading many to believe that finally the wave of reformasi would be able to topple Shahrizat.

Many observers feel that the independent, 48-year-old Periasamy Nagaratnam, would not even regain his deposit.

lembah pantai parliamentary seat election results 110208 When Malaysiakini met Shahrizat on her rounds yesterday, the affable 54-year-old deputy head of the Umno's women wing was confident of repeating her earlier successes in defeating her big-reputation opponents.

In 1999, she defeated former lord president Salleh Abas (Semangat 46), in 1999 she topped Zainur Zakaria (Keadilan) and in 2004, she was again victorious against Keadilan’s Sanusi Osman.

"People vote me because of me and my party," she said, adding that the feedback from the ground has been very positive so far.

She added that the Lembah Pantai people were very appreciative of what she has done for them.

"Listen to what the opposition has to say, and see what they have to say on what I've done and will do, and then decide for yourself," she said.

A proxy for Anwar

Many however believe that the presence of Anwar’s eldest daughter Nurul this time around could make things complicated for Shahrizat.

lembah pantai nomination day 240208 hugs On her part, 27-year-old Nurul ( photo, left ) has been campaigning that if she is elected, she would willingly step down in April to allow her father to contest in a by-election, a move which may endear to most of the urban Malay voters in this constituency.

Anwar is barred from standing as a candidate until this April because of his conviction for corruption in 1999.

The Lembah Pantai constituency offers a snap shot of Malaysia in a tiny area. Although it is a Malay-majority area, it also has a good mix of Chinese and Indian voters. Demographically the area sees the rich living adjacent to the poor, where million-ringgit home being a stone-throw away from neighbours of the working class.

There are about 170,000 residents in Lembah Pantai - which includes the trendy Bangsar, the university locality of Pantai, the affluent Bukit Bandaraya and the public housing estate in Kampung Kerinchi - but with only about 57,000 registered voters.

Malays comprise 54.5 percent of the voters, Chinese 27.6 percent, Indians 18.2 percent and others one percent.

In 2004, Shahrizat obtained 26,474 votes to defeat Sanusi by a 15,288-vote majority.

Voters' views

Malaysiakini also spoke to a number of Lembah Pantai voters to gauge their sentiments. This is what they had to say:

lembah pantai 010308 norma samsuddin Norma Samsuddin, Petronas Carigali employee, 30

Shahrizat has brought development to this constituency, especially developing the squatter area by building low-cost apartments. Nurul is relatively unknown compared to Shahrizat but people might vote for her only because of her father’s influence.

Baili Ahjun, 50s

There are positive acceptance towards Shahrizat and the majority of Malay voters will vote for her. Nurul Izzah will lose in this fight because she is still young and inexperienced.

Mohd Sharif Ahmad

I am convinced PKR will win here, largely due to the positive response from three major races towards PKR. Shahrizat only cared for her cronies more than the people here.

lembah pantai 010308 mr. balakrishnan Balakrishnan

The voters want to send a strong message that they want a strong opposition leader for Lembah Pantai. Anwar’s daughter must go to Parliament and her voice must be there.

A Chinese resident who wished to remain anonymous

The candidates must win with their own strength and the winning candidate must improve on the local drainage and roads issues, as well as trying to curb the rising crime level in this area.