Thunderous applause echoes across Tambun but is Anwar singing to the choir?

Travelling a total distance of 62km and seven hours later, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim ended his tour around the Tambun parliamentary constituency yesterday on a high - by belting out a song he has taken a liking to in recent days.

Anwar, who is fond of rendering old Tamil songs at ceramah, chose to sing and rap along to Altimet’s latest single ‘Aduh Malaysia’ instead and was cheered on with applause from the crowd at a Deepavali programme in Hulu Kinta.

The PKR president was not only met with thunderous applause that echoed across Tambun, but he was also warmly welcomed by multi-racial supporters throughout his grand tour.

The hospitable reception this time round, as compared to initial reactions from the ground when the Pakatan Harapan chief first announced his candidacy, had somewhat allayed the doubts about his ability to wrest the seat previously won by former coalition colleague Ahmad Faizal Azumu in the 2018 polls.

Although Anwar may breathe a sigh of relief and be courageous to ‘sing the sweet spot’ in securing the parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15), no one can be blamed for having a healthy dose of scepticism.

Could this seemingly positive on-the-ground sentiment be an indication of Anwar’s fate in this uncharted territory?

Is Anwar singing to the choir?

While it appears that Anwar’s move to make Tambun his battleground is well-received by over 1,000 supporters who turned up at the series or programmes, there is certainly more than meets the eye.

If we paid close enough attention to how the crowds reacted during Anwar’s speech and that of other Harapan leaders at different events throughout the tour, we would come to the realisation that not all members of the audience were necessarily eager to tune in to what the former had to say.

Based on observations by Malaysiakini at the ‘Pesta Lei Cha’ with the Khantan residents in Chemor, Perak, it was ostensible that the majority of the attendees were more roused by Perak DAP chairperson Nga Kor Ming’s speech, with them eagerly applauding and cheering.

Meanwhile, some were merely waiting for the 75-year-old politician to finish delivering his speech so that they could feast on the complimentary traditional Hakka dish made from tea leaves and rice.

“Although I’m sure Anwar’s influence played a role in the turnout, people came for DAP.

“I wasn’t bothered what he (Anwar) had to say. I came for ‘lei cha’,” quipped an attendee, who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak more freely.

Despite the fact that it’s still early days, Anwar’s nomination as Harapan’s prime ministerial candidate for the forthcoming GE15 hasn’t been able to assist him to convince voters.

Would this spell trouble for the incumbent Port Dickson MP, should he decide to stick to his current campaigning style and not amp up his roadshows in order to reach more voters?

Banking on track record as Port Dickson MP to win Tambun?

It would not be erroneous to say that Anwar has been harping on his ‘stellar track record of service’ as the lawmaker of Port Dickson, wishing that the voters could make comparisons and cast a vote for him.

One of the prominent key points mentioned repeatedly at almost every event throughout the tour was that he took a two-month salary cut as a lawmaker during the Covid-19 pandemic and spent the money to help the people of his previous constituency.

“I have prepared a track record throughout my time as Port Dickson MP (to inform Tambun voters) and this can be compared here,” said Anwar.

While the Tambun seat could well serve as an optic for Harapan to showcase their prime minister candidate, it is feared that Anwar’s hopes to bank on his Port Dickson performance alone in facing a multi-cornered fight in the Malay-majority seat could backfire.

However, Anwar, in his typical tactical fashion, may have a few tricks up his sleeve after nomination day on Nov 5.

Will he be deemed as a broken record, or will he be singing the same tune as Tambun constituents? Only time will tell.

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