BN hopeful P Kamalanathan's squeaky clean image is an advantage in the battle for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary post, but his lack of experience in national politics may hinder him.

hulu selangor by-election nomination 170410 kamalanathan wiht bn leaders Kamalanathan, who was chosen at the 11th hour by MIC to take over the candidacy from  the party's deputy chief G Palanivel, has an uphill task in making himself a recognisable face in semi-rural constituency.

"I don't come from very far, I have lived in Rawang all my life... and before the parliamentary border were drawn, Rawang, too, was under Hulu Selangor," said Kamalanathan.

Being a resident in Rawang, which he describes as being a stone’s throw away from Hulu Selangor, Kamalanathan appealed to the electorate here to accept him as a local.

The MIC information chief will take on PKR's Zaid Ibrahim and two independents, VS Chandran and Johan Mohd Diah, in a four cornered fight.

When met at Felda Sungai Tengi, during his visit to the Umno divisions there, Kamalanathan told Malaysiakini that he was introducing himself to the people there.

With only seven days to polls on April 25, time was the essence.

"The major problems in this area is the lack of basic necessities, housing, food, jobs," said Kamalanathan.

Grand plans

With some 16 oil palm plantations and rubber estates in the area,  agricultural development was another priority.

"I have plans to diversify the oil palm industry by bringing the latest in green technology," he said.

hulu selangor 180410 kamalanathan poster During his walkabout to the Umno branches, Kamalanathan shook hands and greeted residents, bidding them to vote for him.

Hardly speaking for more than five minutes, he appealed to them to pray for his success and wish him the best.

Kamalanathan graced  all the branches of the component parties in Kuala Kubu Baru, Batang Kali and Hulu Bernam with his presence today.

Some of his supporters who eagerly awaited his visits remarked that it was nice to have someone young and progressive.

Still, there were also murmurs that Kamalanathan needed to maintain a humble profile.

"He is a public relations man and good with people, but when you are new you should move cautiously," said a local party source.

Kamalanathan is currently being assisted by the federal government's bigwigs.

Joining the campaign today at various locations in the constituency as big as the state of Malacca, was Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, among others.

Umno has been working on retaining its influence in Malay majority areas ever since the death of the constituency's MP Zainal Abidin Ahmad from PKR.

Malay voters who make the majority in the Hulu Selangor by-election at 52.74 percent, are currently divided between BN and Pakatan Rakyat.

Uphill task

Meanwhile, component parties MCA, Gerakan and MIC have been on an uphill battle to convince Chinese voters (who make up 26.3 percent of the voters), Indians (19.31 percent), and others (1.65 percent) who had defected to the opposition's camp during the general election.

MIC secretary-general S Murugesan told Malaysiakini that the party’s main task was to warm the people up to Kamalanathan.

Although Barisan posters and flags have been mounted in the satellite townships, few feature Kamalanathan.

"This is because its only been a day since nominations... we have a systematic plan drawn out and gradually everything will be out," said MIC secretary general interview s murugesan 170909 02 .

The cracks that had appeared before the nomination, with some party branches strongly favouring  Palanivel as BN's nominee, have also smoothed over, said Murugesan ( left ).

"We have assigned the branch leaders and the coomittee members to guide and help... Palanivel will also be leading us in several key Indian areas," he said.

The overall strategy is too utilise BN multi-racial component to appeal to its respective community and to involve Kamalanathan in every activity as much as possible, he added.