'David vs Goliath' battle shaping up in Ayer Hitam

DAP central executive committee member Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali will be going up against MCA president Wee Ka Siong for the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat.

This was announced during a fundraising dinner in Muar, Johor, last night.

During the 2018 election, Wee clung to Ayer Hitam by securing 44 percent of the votes cast, edging his opponent Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong by just 303 votes.

Speaking to reporters after the dinner, Liew said even though he could have a second go at Wee, the situation now was different from 2018.

"With the anti-Umno and anti-Ahmad Zahid Hamidi sentiments among Malay voters now, we think fielding Sheikh Umar (above, left) is novel and can lead to new possibilities and breakthroughs.

"The old formula (may not be suitable). Every general election is different," said Liew.

Based on the results of the Johor legislative assembly election in March, Sheikh Umar will be starting his campaign on the back foot.

Ayer Hitam is a Malay majority parliamentary seat that has been represented by Wee for four terms. Although his majority has been chipped away in recent general elections, the state election in March has signalled a reversal in sentiments.

There are two state constituencies in Ayer Hitam - Semarang and Yong Peng. During the March election, BN wrested back Yong Peng and held on to Semarang.

Collectively, BN won 57.3 percent of the votes in the Semarang and Yong Peng seats - a massive 13.32 percent swing in their favour compared to 2018.

In Semarang, the Pakatan Harapan candidate did not even manage to retain her deposit.

Uphill battle for Sheikh Umar

In 2018, Sheikh Umar served as the Paloh assemblyperson. He failed to retain his seat during the state election in March.

In a statement, Sheikh Umar acknowledged that he was facing an uphill battle but believed that the estimated 21,000 new voters in Ayer Hitam will back Harapan because of its promise of a clean government.

He also reminded voters that BN chairperson Zahid had once explicitly named Wee in his infamous speech at the MIC annual general meeting on Oct 10.

"For BN, they are afraid of being dragged to court... For us, this election is about good governance, economic recovery, a stable ringgit and harmony among the rakyat," he said.

Meanwhile, DAP had also announced that former Skudai assemblyperson Tan Hong Pin will be fielded as its candidate for the Bakri parliamentary seat.

He will be replacing incumbent Yeo Bee Yin, who will now be fielded as the candidate for the Puchong parliamentary seat in Selangor.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, who announced the moves at the dinner last night, said Yeo was being “shipped” to Selangor because more female candidates were needed there.

Loke also announced that Pang Hok Liong will be defending the Labis seat.

The dinner also saw a replica of incumbent Damansara MP Tony Pua's painting being auctioned off for RM4,888. Separately, another RM11,696 was collected at the event.

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