Will Balik Pulau pendulum swing again?

GE15 | Balik Pulau is known for two things - its durian industry and being the sole parliamentary constituency on Penang island with a Malay majority.

Since 2008, the seat has changed hands between PKR and Umno during every election. Come Nov 19, all eyes will be on whether the cycle will break.

There are 80,264 voters in Balik Pulau, of which 66.3 percent are Malays. Umno held the seat uninterrupted between 1974 and 2008.

In 2018, PKR's Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (above) wrested back the seat from Umno by winning just 51.17 percent of the vote share.

Observers believe that the pendulum may swing in BN's favour if voter sentiments haven't changed since the recent Malacca and Johor state elections, which saw Pakatan Harapan's Malay supporters backing Perikatan Nasional and handing BN an easy victory.

For incumbent Bakhtiar, he believed that the sentiment has changed since the two state elections because of Najib Abdul Razak's jailing, the littoral combat ship fiasco and other factors.

"Umno's support level is dwindling and voters are turning either to Harapan or PN. However, we can see that we've gotten a bigger share of the support than PN because they have proven to be a very weak government.

"Moreover, there are a lot of 'traitors' in PN. As for PAS, their only weapon is calling their rivals 'communist'," he said when met by Malaysiakini.

Bakhtiar said he was optimistic that Malay support in his constituency would be roughly the same as in 2018 which would help tide him over.

People's touch

Bakhtiar's main challenger is widely believed to be BN's Shah Headan Ayoob Shah, a corporate man, Balik Pulau Umno division chief and a former state assemblyperson for Teluk Bahang (2013-2018).

Headan too doesn't read too much into BN's victory in Malacca and Johor.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he said his strategy was to meet as many voters as possible.

"It's my duty to meet everyone regardless of race... I have to let them see me. Hopefully, they can ask me questions so they can make a decision.

"I hope this time, (BN and Umno) will be given a chance to serve them. Moreso, Balik Pulau is my kampung," Headan said.

Visibility counts

A straw poll of Balik Pulau voters approached by Malaysiakini indicated that most are unaware of who the candidates were and undecided.

Some complained there have been few changes in Balik Pulau over the decades and this would be a factor when they finally decide.

A trader who wished to be known only as Nazari, 54, said after voting for PKR during the past two general elections, he was considering voting for BN this time around.

"PKR talk a lot but do little. As for BN, there are good and bad people, but they do better work," he said.

A pharmacist who wished to be known only as Syuhada, 30, too remarked that there have been little changes to the constituency, but she was inclined to vote for Harapan.

"They helped a lot during the movement control order," she remarked.

PN the dark horse

Although most voters approached by Malaysiakini are considering BN and Harapan, some are exploring the possibility of voting for PN as well.

Student and first-time voter Mohd Adli, 22, said he will vote for PN because he believed that the Muhyiddin Yassin administration handled the Covid-19 pandemic well.

He added that PN component party PAS has managed to run a clean government in Kelantan and Terengganu, which he said was a factor in his decision.

"Previously, there was a lot of corruption... PN is not involved in corruption. They are clean," he said.

There are six candidates in the race for Balik Pulau. Apart from Bakhtiar and Headan, the other candidates are Bersatu's Muhammad Harris Idaham Abdul Rashid, Pejuang's Fazli Mohammad and independents Johnny Ch'ng Ewe Gee and Sabaruddin Ahmad.

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