JOHOR Entering the final 10 days of campaigning, PKR will focus its machinery on two approaches – organising more ceramah to build momentum and intensifying the “personal touch” of candidates to reach more voters.

In term of issues, those daily bread-and-butter problems facing constituents will be the core topic in the coming week.

Unlike DAP which has built a huge momentum in Chinese areas even before nomination due to the overwhelming anti-establishment sentiment inherited from the last general election, PKR adopted an incremental campaign to woo the Malays.

NONE The party started the campaign with mainly walkabouts and house-to-house visits to introduce its candidates while small-group ceramah dubbed “ceramah kelompok” played a secondary role, while large scale ceramah were only seen in urban areas.

A member of the campaign team of Johor PKR deputy chief Ahmad Faidhi Saidi ( left ), who is also the candidate for Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency, earlier told Malaysiakini that PKR's campaign in the southern state is divided into three stages.

The first stage involves actively engaging voters with walkabouts and house-to-house visits, followed by the second stage of small-group ceramah and finally,  mega ceramah that pushes the momentum to its peak.

Met last night after giving a speech at Batu Pahat, PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli shared with Malaysiakini the party's strategy in the second half of the race.

“I think we are doing just nice... This election is going to be won on two things in the last week. First is your personal touch,” he said.

Rafizi explained that BN candidates lack of such interaction with the voters as many of them were finalised at the eleventh hour.

“They have not really gone down because their candidates were finalised late. They are still struggling with their choices of candidates. We have an advantage there.”

Hence the party has asked candidates to increase their door-to-door calls within their constituencies.

Malays make up high number of fence-sitters

Umno faced extraordinary revolt from its grassroots in this general election where 22 percent out of the 269 Independent candidates were from Umno.

NONE Not only disgruntlement on the ground, some controversial candidates such as Perkasa vice-chief Zulkifli Noordin ( Shah Alam parliamentary seat, right ) and Nik Sapeia Nik Yusoff ( Guchil state seat) who was charged for attacking former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad with pepper spray in 2006, have tainted the 1Malaysia brand built by BN chief Najib Abdul Razak.

The second approach is ceramah to draw more crowd, giving voters the sense that change has arrived, said Rafizi.

“We have to whip up and build the momentum, this election is going to be a wave election, because all the issues have been there for the last two years.

“I doubt there is going to be new issues after this, so we just need to draw more crowd and then we just have to make sure that we keep up the momentum and keep BN on the defensive.”

Hence voters can expect national PKR leaders to be touring the country to speak at various ceramah.

However, it is uncertain whether these ceramah will swing voters, especially those in Malay areas as the observation on the ground showed that the number of fence-sitters is still high within Malay voters, who usually prefer to listen and observe Pakatan Rakyat ceramah from a distance.

Rafizi: PKR segmentise voters by class, not race

During the past two weeks, it was not uncommon in Johor to see there more people listening to the ceramah from the surrounding area of the venue than those sitting in front, towards the stage.

NONE Asked whether the campaign will zero in on Malay areas, Rafizi ( left ) replied that PKR segmentise the voters by class instead of race.

“We will continue to focus on issues that affect bread-and-butter, that affect the working class because it is this working class, (aged) 20 to 40 over (years old), that not only will deliver the voters to us, but will also go back and convince their parents.

“This is our tested formula for the last three years and we are not going to change it last minute, just that is going to be bigger, drawing more crowd and we just going to hammer it further, complemented by our candidates going down and meeting the people face to face,” he elaborated.

Rafizi was unfazed by Umno's typical attack that threatens the Malays that they would lose their rights and interest under a Pakatan government dominated by non-Malays.

“(Addressing) Bread-and-butter issues are effective in all races, urban and rural, because they can relate. That's why we don't really answer about Malay supremacy and so on...

“Umno is going to frighten people but at the end of the day people will make choice that which one sounds more practical to them. Talking about their daily problems sound more practical than talking about big concepts, about Malay supremacy and so on,” he added.

During his speech in Batu Pahat to a crowd of some 500, Rafizi explicated three promises made in Pakatan manifesto – the abolition of the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) and highway toll, and the reduction of fuel price – all related to cost of living.

anwar ceramah batu pahat crowd 240413 pledge These promises were also given emphasis by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim during his several ceramah in Johor which have attracted enormous crowd .

It is not clear whether these approaches and choice of issues will be followed by DAP and PAS.

The main challenges for DAP will be to boost the already high momentum to another level and penetrate Malay areas with the help of PKR and PAS.

As for PAS, its candidates are still struggling in many BN-Malay strongholds to expand the party's influence out of its traditional supporters.