GE14 | Driving northbound along Federal Route 1 from Selangor, oil palm trees and forests line the roads to Tanjung Malim on the southernmost tip of Perak, before the ‘old road’ narrows and lead to the 10 Felda settlements tucked within.

The snaky roads winding deep into Felda territory seem endless, with hazy mountains visible in the distance. Total darkness descends at night, with illumination only coming from the houses dotted along the side.

With agriculture the main economic activity here, the semi-rural constituency has remained a BN stronghold for over six decades.

Tanjung Malim is among the largest of the 24 parliamentary constituencies in Perak, with the highest concentration of Felda settlers in the state – making up about 20 percent of the 68,468 voters in the constituency.

The seat is currently held by MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan, who defeated PKR's Tan Yee Kew by 4,328 votes in the 2013 polls.

The constituency comprises three state seats, namely Behrang in the south, Slim and Sungkai.

The Malay-majority Behrang and Slim are held by BN, with half of Perak’s 20 Felda villages shared between the two constituencies.

Behrang contains Felda Sungai Behrang, Felda Trolak Timur and Felda Sungai Klah, while Slim houses Felda Gunung Besout 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Felda Trolak Utara and Felda Trolak Selatan.

Sungkai, meanwhile, is a Chinese-majority seat which DAP’s A Sivanesan won by 3,511 votes in 2013.

Tanjung Malim will see a three-cornered fight in the 14th general election, with Perak MCA chief Mah Hang Soon squaring off against Perak PKR vice-chief Chang Lih Kang and Tanjung Malim PAS chief Mohd Tarmizi Rahman.

'War of position' and the ‘ceramah kelompok’

With Harapan seeking to engender a ‘Malay tsunami’ in GE14, Malay-majority constituencies – particularly Felda settlements – have become key battlegrounds.

Campaigning is no easy task, however, with the areas outside the main towns of Tanjung Malim and Bidor being scarcely populated.

Given the logistical drawbacks, candidates have to make the most of their time in Felda and indigenous settlements, as well as Malay villages. 

This means that strategy has become key, with Chang and Mah taking vastly different approaches to win over the heartland.

Last Sunday, Chang and his team ventured deep into the Malay village of Ulu Slim, and held a ceramah kelompok (group talk) with Harapan’s Behrang candidate, Aminuddin Zulkipli in front of a small wooden house.

Addressing an intimate crowd of just 50, Chang and Aminuddin largely spoke on national issues, particularly GST and 1MDB, zooming in on the luxurious life of the key player in the scandal, Low Taek Jho.

Despite the conventional wisdom that such national issues should take a backseat to more ‘comprehensible’ local politics in such areas, Man, 62, an Orang Asli villager from nearby Pos Bersih, told Malaysiakini that such matters are hardly lost on kampung folk.

Man, who works as a rubber tapper, also said he supported the abolishment of GST and the gazetting or more native customary rights (NCR) land for Orang Asli settlements.

Another villager, Nasri (photo), said he was also concerned about GST and said the six percent tax burdened the people.

When interviewed by Malaysiakini, Chang said Tanjung Malim was unsuitable for bigger ceramah, since it was difficult for faraway Felda settlers to attend talks held in town.

"We want to meet with targeted groups, and even if you hold a big talk in Tanjung Malim town, the crowds may include people who come up from Selangor.

"Maybe we can have one or two such talks, but mostly we will go into the villages to meet them," he said.

Chang used the Gramscian term 'war of position' to describe this strategy, referring to the fortification of small areas in the build-up to winning over the constituency as a whole.

“This is not a ‘big point’ war, where if you win you get the whole place. This is a ‘small point’ war,” he added.

Going large with ‘ceramah perdana’

His rival Mah, meanwhile, took a different approach altogether, holding a ceramah perdana (prime talk) in Felda Gunung Besout 2 and 3 last Monday.

The ceramah perdana was held outside a restaurant in town, which had a small stage facing two big tents. It attracted a crowd of more than a hundred.

In his speech, Mah introduced himself as a heart specialist, and stressed the importance of representatives working hard to serve the people.

"I promise that I will continue to take care of the welfare of voters," he said.

He also noted how he concentrated on health and medical issues when he served as Perak exco, and promised to improve medical services in Tanjung Malim should BN retain the seat.

Unlike Chang, Mah did not touch on national issues. He also refused to be interviewed by Malaysiakini after his speech.

At the ceramah perdana, Felda settler Mohd Yusof, 59, told Malaysiakini that he saw Mah two years ago, and knows about him.

He also praised BN for helping Felda settlers. Personally, he said, it was BN who built a ditch near his house, and would vote for the ruling coalition for that reason.

He admitted, however, that he was concerned about GST and inflation, and was impacted by the rising cost of living himself.

"I think GST should not be implemented, but I will follow government policy if they insist on implementing it," he said.

Another Felda settler, Haji Isa Yacob, 72, told Malaysiakini that he has been supporting BN for over 40 years, and agreed that it has helped Felda settlers a lot, especially in terms of land and subsidies.

He had never seen Mah before, only coming to know of him from the ceramah, but said that he would vote for BN no matter which candidate is fielded.

'Invisible opponents'

Strategies to win over the heartlands aside, Mah seems keen on projecting a non-confrontational persona, in the hope of coming off as a 'steady hand.'

But his biggest challenge could come in the form of the incumbent, Ong.

It was previously reported that Mah and Ong were tussling for Tanjung Malim.

After Mah was announced as BN's candidate for the seat, around 300 of Ong's supporters held a protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya.

They were demanding that BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak and MCA president Liow Tiong Lai reinstate Ong as a candidate.

However, Ong then issued a statement saying that he would try and get his supporters to calm down and throw their support behind the chosen BN candidate. 

But whether the ill-feeling subsides remains to be seen. 

Chang, meanwhile, believes he may be affected by PAS splitting the opposition vote.

Though admitting that PAS has a larger presence in the northern Perak, he said that the Islamist party may yet dampen any possible ‘Malay tsunami’.

He also conceded that he has seen no hint of the gathering ‘tsunami’ as yet, with polls just a week away.

"In Felda settlements, there have been more people expressing their dissatisfaction, but I cannot say there is a ‘Malay tsunami’ now. But they are more friendly towards the opposition," he said.

Besides campaigning at Felda and Malay villages, Mah and Chang will also court the support of the Chinese community in Sungkai and attempt to make inroads in indigenous settlements.

Chang himself remains uncertain whether the strategy employed to penetrate the heartlands will be enough to counter PAS' entry into the fray. 

And with his rival dogged by his own uncertainties, the PKR man is not eager to make any bold predictions as yet. 

When asked about his chances of capturing the BN stronghold of Tanjung Malim, Chang only offers a sedate "50-50."