BUSINESSMAN Ahmad Salman Shamsuddin has seen a drop of almost 30% in sales at his shops in Bachok, Kelantan, a coastal district famed for its beaches.

So, he was excited when Pakatan Harapan promised to build an oil and gas terminal in nearby Pantai Senok, if it is elected into Putrajaya and gains control of the Kelantan government in the 14^th general election.

“It would definitely boost business around here. There’s much spillover that can benefit residents,” the 37-year-old told The Malaysian Insight recently. 

The O&G terminal idea, unveiled at PH’s ceramah in Bachok by Kelantan PH chief Husam Musa, is part of the coalition’s offers in its campaign to capture Kelantan from PAS.

The choice of Bachok as PH’s last stop in its Kelantan tour reflects the coalition’s push into its rural and semi-urban areas out from the state’s urban centre in Kota Baru.

Kelantan’s middle belt contains about 17 state seats all of which were won by fewer than 2,000 votes in GE13. Of those seats, eight were won by fewer than 1,000 votes.

The 17 state seats will be critical for all three of the coalitions – PH, Barisan Nasional and the PAS-led Gagasan Sejahtera – as they battle for control of Kelantan in GE14.

This is because any coalition needs 23 seats in the 45-seat assembly to form the state government with a simple majority. 

The Bachok ceramah on Saturday featured its top guns, such as its prime minister and deputy prime minister candidates Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as well as component party chiefs Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohamad Sabu.

In the morning of the same day, Dr Mahathir and Husam held a rally and meet-the-voter session in Tanah Merah, a parliamentary seat one hour from Kota Baru.

Kelantan is roughly the shape of a triangle with its state capital Kota Baru and its suburbs at its peak. This is the state’s most populous area and contains eight parliamentary seats. 

The middle portion of the triangle contains six larger parliamentary and the 17 state assembly seats. These middle districts form a belt stretching from Bachok and Pasir Puteh on its east coast to Machang, Tanah Merah in the centre, to Jeli, the western hinterland next to Thailand.

Kuala Krai forms the southern portion of the belt before the parliamentary constituency and district of Gua Musang.

Of the 17 marginal state seats in this middle belt, 11 were won by PAS, while six were won by BN.

The parliamentary seat of Pasir Puteh was won by PAS by 1,888 votes, while Machang was won by BN by 805 votes and Bachok was captured by PAS with 201 votes.   

Hisham Fauzi, a Tanah Merah PH grassroots leader said Dr Mahathir’s session with residents is to make it easy for voters and supporters from Kelantan’s middle region to see the former prime minister.

It is also to promote PH and spread the coalition’s message to voters in Kelantan’s more rural areas.   

“The response to us is a bit slower in these southern seats compared with Kota Baru and that’s why we are holding the rally in Tanah Merah,” Hisham said of the Tanah Merah rally.

“In Tanah Merah, people from Machang, Jeli and even Kuala Krai attended.”

Better narrative

PH is still considered a new player that is challenging the traditional Kelantan political landscape that has been dominated by PAS and BN.

PH is composed of veteran opposition parties PKR and DAP, as well as relatively young parties Bersatu (formed by ex-Umno members) and Amanah (set up by former PAS members). 

When PH was formed in late 2016, much of its programmes were held in Kota Baru and nearby Tumpat and Pasir Mas, which have the highest concentration of residents.

“The response to us was quite positive and quick in Kota Baru and its surrounding areas. But its slower here,” said Hisham, who is Amanah coordinator for the state seat of Bukit Panau in Tanah Merah.

“But our presence is growing and we are seeing more and more people volunteering for our events and programmes.”

The ceramah in Bachok saw a crowd of almost 3,000 which surprised religious teacher Muhammad Hussin who drove up from neighbouring Pasir Puteh.

“Neither BN or PAS can get people to turn out like this voluntarily,” said the 66-year-old.

Muhammad believes it bodes well for the coalition’s efforts to spread its appeal throughout Kelantan.

“The Kelantanese are very politically aware. They are not scared of voting their leaders out,” he said, referring to how the state booted out PAS in 1978 and re-installed the Islamist party in 1990.   

Jeli Bersatu chief Dr Aminuddin Yaacob, however, believes unseating the two older coalitions, especially BN, is still a tough task.

“The rural folk are used to eating out of BN’s hands. They get money and rice in BN programmes. But out of the two, we believe that we have the better narrative.” – March 13, 2018.