GE14 | In the rural heartland of Malacca, Malay villages dot the landscape with a sprinkle of Chinese and Indian settlements.

Since independence, the opposition has never won in the rural heartland and its small influence through the decades have been confined to the urban centres.

But that may soon change with PKR's Ginie Lim (above) leading the charge for Machap Jaya, a constituency that apart from some small towns and Felda settlements, is covered by vast rubber and oil palm plantations.

If she wins, it will not only be the opposition's first largely rural seat in the state but also PKR's first state seat in Malacca.

Lim's opponent, MCA Koh Nai Kwong is disgruntled that he was moved from the parliamentary seat of Alor Gajah to the state seat of Machap Jaya, to make way for the prime minister's political secretary Wong Nai Chee.

Machap Jaya is a state seat under Alor Gajah.

Publicly, Lim had painted Koh as a reluctant candidate but privately, Lim's team acknowledged that Koh is popular among the locals, so much so that even local Umno and MIC leaders protested on his behalf when he was moved out of the parliamentary seat.

“We became worried when Koh was announced as BN’s candidate (in Machap Jaya) because he is very popular here,” conceded a PKR source, who is part of Lim's campaign.

Koh had won in Alor Gajah by an 11,597-vote majority, the highest majority which MCA won in the last election out of all their seats.

Koh is well-known and beloved by the people, said Machap Baru village head Michael Tai, because he is often seen helping the locals with problems both big and small.

“He has been servicing us for so many years. Any problems, big or small, he will come personally to resolve the problem.

“Every month he will help with the basic necessities for the single mothers, the poor families and such,” Tai, who is an ardent Koh (picture) supporter, told Malaysiakini.

But Lim is not without her own popularity in Machap Jaya, having carved a name for herself by continuing to work in the area despite losing twice in that seat since 2008.

In a walkabout at Machap Bestari, a new residential area established about two years ago, many residents there who had moved from older parts of Machap Jaya greeted Lim like an old friend.

Also with her was Bersatu's candidate for Alor Gajah Mohd Redzuan Yusof.

“Wouldn’t Lim’s picture look so nice hanging here (on my fence)?” joked CK Pu, one of the residents Lim greeted during the walkabout.

Most of the other residents also received her warmly and openly stated their support for Pakatan Harapan.

One Indian woman immediately pointed to the Harapan flyer she was holding and gave the thumbs up with a smile when asked by Malaysiakini who she supported.

A Malay man who works as a janitor in a school also complained about the rising costs of living to Lim and Redzuan before pledging his support for them.

Machap Bestari falls under the Ayer Pasir polling district, where Lim garnered 152 votes to BN's 215 votes.

In the last general election, Lim received overwhelming support from the Machap Baru and Machap Umbor polling districts, which are also the only two areas to have a Chinese-majority population.

While PKR is worried about some Chinese swing to Koh, their main focus would be on getting more Malay votes, said the source.

If Lim hopes to defeat Koh, she needs to retain all her Chinese voters as well as flip some of BN's Malay voters, as four out of eight voting districts in Machap Jaya have a Malay-majority population.

Machap Jaya is a mixed constituency comprising 44 percent Malays, 40 percent Chinese and 14 percent Indians.

Owing to demography, Lim does not need a 'Malay tsunami', rather, a 'Malay ripple' would be enough to pull off a victory.