INTERVIEW | Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Razali Ibrahim has a tough road ahead of him in the upcoming 14th general election.

The three-term Muar MP has seen a sharp drop in his majority in the last two elections, despite his higher profile as a deputy minister since 2009.

Taking this in stride, Razali said the drop in votes was not a reflection of his own personal achievements or popularity, but instead a reflection of the strong anti-government sentiments at the time.

Razali first contested and won the semi-urban seat in 2004, the year that BN achieved its strongest ever election results.

"When I contested in 2004, I had no contributions to the people of Muar, they did not know me.

"I was 33, and I won with a 13,415-vote majority," Razali told Malaysiakini in an interview in his constituency on Saturday.

But this strong showing did not repeat itself in 2008, when the political tsunami swept away 65 percent of his vote majority, leaving him with just 4,661 votes ahead of the opposition.

"So when I saw this drop, I worked harder, more people liked me, more people knew me - but more votes were lost," he said in jest, referring to his marginal 1,646 vote majority in 2013.

"(So) it is not about the individual, everyone knew at the time that there was a lot of perceptions created (against BN)," he said, adding that an individual candidate is only a small factor in voting choices.

Razali said anti-BN sentiments were also why his opponent in 2013, PKR's Hizwan Ahmad, had still managed to get 19,221 votes, despite not being a local or a known personality to the voters of Muar.

BN exposes corruption, opposition become heroes

This perception, including that BN is corrupt, is misplaced, Razali claimed.

The deputy minister said the ruling government is the one exposing scandals, such as the National Feedlot Centre, but yet somehow it is the opposition that gets lauded as heroes.

"The NFC case was revealed in the auditor-general's report. The government exposed it... The cabinet had to approve (the audit report) to be tabled in Parliament.

"The government exposed the RM100 million scandal in the Youth and Sports Ministry, Sabah water scandal, Mara - all exposed by the government.

"So why are the opposition becoming the heroes?" he asked.

He added that the opposition had only become heroes for joking about prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor's ring.

This is in reference to Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, who claimed in a defamation suit statement of defence that his remark about fuel subsidies being abolished to buy more rings for Rosmah was merely said in jest.

He also said that opposition claims that government institutions, such as Felda and Tabung Haji, would be going bankrupt have been disproven, as both are doing well financially.

Moving forward, Razali said BN would highlight its achievements in implementing its 2018 manifesto, which he claimed to be nearly 100 percent achieved, besides pushing a new development agenda for the next five years.

Among others, he said this would include efforts to raise the income of the people of Muar.

"When we become a developed nation, the people of Muar will also want to be able to enjoy that development," he said.

Razali also said that he would not make empty promises, as he wished to secure the people's support in the long term.

He also quashed speculation that he would contest for a state seat, saying the current state government leadership was good.

Razali is set to take on a political newcomer, Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (photo) for the Muar seat. PAS may also enter the fray as a third contestant.

Muar is a mixed parliamentary seat. In 2013, 62 percent of the voters were Malay, 35 percent Chinese, and one percent Indian.

In that year, PAS under the then Pakatan Rakyat secured a combined 20,812 votes for Muar's two state seats - Maharani and Sungai Balang - compared to a combined 19,311 for BN.

If the voting pattern had remained the same, it could have resulted in a victory for PKR at the Parliament level, but there was a shift in votes in favour of BN.

If the Malay vote is split in GE14, whoever secures the non-Malay vote could come out on top.