Keadilan candidate for the coveted Putrajaya parliamentary seat Abdul Rahman Othman is confident of giving his Barisan Nasional (BN) opponent a run for his money.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) secretary general, who describes himself as the 'underdog', will be taking on Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor come Sunday.

Speaking to malaysiakini today, Abdul Rahman said the response from voters in the administrative capital has been encouraging.

"As I introduce myself, most of the voters openly express support for me. They even invite me to their houses and there are also voters who hug me," he added.

According to the Keadilan leader, his inaugural ceramah (political talk) in the constituency attracted some 800 people.

He said this is surprising as the area is made up mostly of civil servants who have been warned against voting for the opposition.

"I have reminded them that their votes are secret and am prepared to fight for their rights should action be taken against them (for supporting the opposition), whether I win or lose this contest," he stressed.

The constituency has only about 5,000 registered voters, the majority of which are Malays (94.8 percent). However, pundits note that a victory here for the opposition could be highly symbolic.

Workers harassed

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman also complains that his campaign workers are often harassed by their rivals. Two police reports have been lodged pertaining to this.

On of the reports was lodged by his nomination seconder Fathullah Uzir Abdullah, who claimed that Umno members had tried to persuade him to withdraw.

In his report, Fathullah alleged that he was taken to meet Khairuddin Samad, Tengku Adnan's political secretary, at his residence from 2am to 5am.

The second report was lodged by the Keadilan candidate's son, Abdullah. The latter claimed he was assaulted by BN supporters when distributing leaflets in Putrajaya.

Elaborating, Abdul Rahman said reporting these incidents to the Election Commission (EC) was futile as the watchdog appeared unclear about its authority.

"However, they (the EC) come after us (the opposition) if they feel that we have committed any election offences," he complained.

The Keadilan leader also expressed dissatisfaction over the disappearance of his party's flags and banners in the area.