Despite Chinese storm, Puad set to retain Batu Pahat

GE13 WATCH JOHOR "My son is going to university, how can I not support the opposition?" said an excited middle-aged Chinese man, pointing at his teenage son who sat at the other side of the table, wearing the uniform of Chinese High School, a prominent independent secondary school in Batu Pahat.

He was referring to Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto which promises to abolish the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN).

He was one of the 500-strong Chinese-majority crowd at a food court in Batu Pahat town centre waiting for PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli to give his speech late afternoon yesterday.

Rafizi ( right ) arrived almost one hour later at about 6pm, but the crowd welcomed him like a celebrity. Rounds of cheers and applause were heard during his 45-minute speech, highlighting three major promises in Pakatan manifesto - the abolition of tolls and PTPTN, and the reduction of fuel prices.

Not just Rafizi, PKR candidate for Batu Pahat Mohd Idris Jusi - who was hardly known by the local folks before the election - also received enthusiastic support from the crowd, with some of them asking him for his signature on their Ubah soft toys.

Some three hours after that, Idris attended another ceramah in Parit Bilal, a Malay-majority area only 2km away from the Batu Pahat town.

The mood here is slightly different - less than 50 people came to the ceramah although it was located just beside the main road of Jalan Tongkang Pechah. However, the speeches were aired to the surrounding area by the use of loudspeakers.

Meanwhile, Batu Pahat incumbent MP Puad Zarkashi, who is also the incumbent deputy education minister, faced the same fate when attending a meet-and-greet session in a rural Chinese primary school the same evening.

Only some 50 Chinese parents and villagers filled up one-third of the seats in the hall and they appeared indifferent to Puad's speech, despite that the town is the stomping ground of MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek.

These three events reflected the political atmosphere in Batu Pahat , the second largest town in Johor after Johor Bahru.

Chinese voters, who make up 46 percent of the total voters and mostly reside in the urban areas, followed the nationwide anti-establishment sentiment and have been showing their support to Idris, although the latter was 'parachuted' into Batu Pahat as a candidate for the seat at the eleventh hour.

'Hitches here and there'

Idris - an old friend and long-time loyalist of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim - was born and educated in Batu Pahat, but he had left the town for many years.

The lack of service record and popularity among locals have made it difficult for him to penetrate the rural Malay areas although he claimed that there are "a lot of changes" in these areas.

"In the past, they were hesitant, but now the majority of them are at least willing to listen to us... Surprisingly, some hardcore Umno men even came out to support us and ask for our flags," he said when met after Rafizi's ceramah.

However, the former teacher and National Civics Bureau (BTN) ex-deputy director-general also conceded that there were "hitches here and there" and told Malaysiakini that his campaigners had been harassed by some village heads.

"But my boys said 'no problem, if you want to take our photos, come closer to take'. They tried to threaten, to use some tactics here and there to scare our boys, but when they saw that our boys are persistent, they could not do much."

Idris' ( right ) campaign was also hamstrung by internal bickering.

According to local reporters, Batu Pahat PKR chief Syed Hamid Ali - who has built up a strong team to serve the local community for years - is nowhere to be seen since Idris was announced as candidate.

His supporters even launched an online campaign to attack Idris' former role in the BTN, accusing the government agency for spreading racism, to which Idris had to address in his speech that he was reforming the BTN during his time.

Meanwhile, Puad Zarkashi has been seen working hard to contain the anti-establishment sentiment among the Chinese by intensifying his house-to-house visits in the urban areas in his eye-catching Toyota Harrier decorated with blue lights and party flags.

"I don't deny that this election is not easy; it is a bit tough, but I have prepared my campaign for the past two years. I was in the constituency almost every weekend in the last two years. My service centre has been very active and we managed to solve most problems here.

"I think Batu Pahat people are not influenced with national issues. The people want to have a representative who can serve their interests, who can work with them," he told Malaysiakini last night.

However, Puad's campaign too has not been free from internal disputes.

It is an open secret that Batu Pahat MCA division - led by the party's national president Chua - does not see eye-to-eye with Puad.

Although the whole of the Batu Pahat town was flooded with BN posters, billboards and flags, none of the images show Puad and MCA candidate for Penggaram state seat King Ban Siang together.

MCA's absence is telling

Both of them seldom appeared together in their respective campaign activities, and even when Puad went to visit Chinese schools, he had not been accompanied by the MCA machinery.

The effect of MCA's absence is reflected in his Chinese pamphlet which only contains a simple description highlighting his contributions to the Chinese community ( right ).

Being an Umno politician well-known among the Chinese electorate for his support of Malay right-wing group Perkasa, his labeling of Chinese education group Dong Zong as racist, as well as his conservative stance against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender minority, Puad is trying hard to mend his image.

Last night, Puad denied Rafizi's allegation that he is racist by arguing that he has secured over RM13.6 million of allocation to all the Chinese primary schools in the constituency and RM2 million for a Chinese independent school, although it is not recognised by the government.

"That's not true. I fully support 1Malaysia and support multiracial and inclusiveness practised by the prime minister."

He then used DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang to justify his action in defending Malay rights.

"It is not true that I'm a chauvinist. It is normal as a Malay leader, I talk about Malay interests, but it doesn't mean that I'm anti-non-Malay.

"Just like Lim Kit Siang; in Parliament, he always talks about Chinese schools. I don't think it is fair for Rafizi to accuse me as anti-non-Malays," Puad ( left ) added.

Puad ( left ) is expected to retain Batu Pahat - which he won by a comfortable majority of 12,968 in 2008 - on the back of strong support from Malay voters, albeit a reduced majority due to the revolt among Chinese voters.

But his counterpart in MCA will not be that lucky.

The Chinese-majority state seat of Penggaram, an MCA stronghold previously held by Chua before he moved to the federal government, is likely to fall into the hands of DAP's Gan Peck Cheng who is contesting the seat for the fifth time.

"The whole Batu Pahat now wants to Ubah (change)!" said the middle-aged Chinese man before leaving the food court with his young son.