CALONKINI | Within the Johor political circle, there is a legend about the late Sardon Jubir's line of protégés being destined for great things.

Hailing from Batu Pahat, Sardon was a reputable Johor Umno leader climbed through the political ranks to become a minister. But having passed away in 1985, the current generation may not have heard of him.

But many would be familiar with his political secretary Musa Hitam, who rose to become deputy prime minister.

Musa's own political secretary Shahrir Samad went on to become a political heavyweight in his own right, having served as a minister under four prime ministers.

Shahrir's political secretary Mohamed Khaled Nordin went on to become the current Johor menteri besar and those believing in the legend now have their eyes set on Khaled's own protégés.

One such protégé is Mohammad Khairi A Malik, who has loyally served Khaled for 14 years and will finally make his political debut in the 14th general election as the candidate for the state seat of Kota Iskandar, formerly known as Nusa Jaya.

"I don't mind (having to wait). I am patient in politics. I want to help people. That's my satisfaction in politics," the 52-year-old told Malaysiakini in an interview.

Khairi is seen as the fifth generation of Sardon's line of protégés.

His journey with Khaled began in 1998, when he was narrowly defeated in the Gelang Patah Umno Youth chief election by just two votes.

However, Khaled saw something in him and roped him into the Johor Youth Council and when then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made Khaled a minister, Khairi was, in turn, made a political secretary in 2004.

'Umno will deliver Malay votes'

After more than a decade of service, fielding the economics graduate in Kota Iskandar was a natural choice, being a Gelang Patah native.

Kota Iskandar and Skudai are two state seats under Gelang Patah, which has been renamed as Iskandar Puteri.

Gelang Patah is an increasingly urbanised constituency which covers the city of Johor Bahru and is one of six parliamentary seats within greater Johor Bahru.

Khairi has the unenviable task of assisting BN in trying to oust DAP political giant Lim Kit Siang, who is the Iskandar Puteri incumbent.

"Umno can deliver the Malay voters to Jason," said Khairi, in reference to BN's candidate for Iskandar Puteri Jason Teoh.

"We can help Jason but it will also be up to him to deliver the Chinese votes. If he can deliver between 30 to 40 percent of the Chinese votes, we are confident we can win. And Jason has indicated that he can get 35 percent, so we can win," he said.

In the last general election, Lim won the Iskandar Puteri seat by a 14,762-vote majority. His victory was largely contributed by the state seat of Skudai which DAP's Boo Cheng Hau won by an overwhelming 18,050 votes.

However, Boo is now revolting against the DAP after he was dropped from contesting the seat.

BN won the other state seat of Kota Iskandar by a 2,201-vote majority, which is marginal considering the total votes of 44,131.

But Khairi is upbeat about securing the seat and also contributing to the effort of dislodging Lim at the parliamentary level.

"Has Lim brought any issue for Gelang Patah to Parliament in the last five years? There wasn't a single one.

"He doesn't even know the area, why would he want to be our MP?" he said.

Local roots

Khairi emphasised the fact that people like Teoh and himself have local roots and the local community can benefit immensely if they win.

Even prior to his candidacy, Khairi said he has helped the local community with their needs, such as donating ovens and rice cookers to locals looking to start small businesses.

Khairi is confident that there won't be a "Malay tsunami" against BN, but the Singapore factor remains a key concern for the ruling coalition in Johor.

As highlighted in a previous Malaysiakini report, southern Johor has gone through rapid demographic changes due to internal migration to the region, from where they travel to Singapore daily for higher paying jobs.

But Khairi believes this factor can be mitigated.

"The momentum (for the opposition) is unlike the last general election - the mood is not strong. Things are slower and less aggressive," he said.

Khairi pledges that if he wins Kota Iskandar, he will use his influence to bring in commercial giants to the constituency to create more jobs and also build an alternative road to the Kota Iskandar second link to ease traffic congestion.

He also promised to take care of the rural folk with various incentives for fishermen and poor people.

CALONKINI introduces new faces from all sides of the political divide who are potential candidates for the 14th general election.

The interviews are not an endorsement by Malaysiakini.

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