EVEN in a state that rejected him flatly in 1999, Dr Mahathir Mohamad proved his admirable pulling power, with more than 5,000 people turning up in Dungun to listen to his sales pitch for the opposition.

It is arguable if the turnout will translate to votes in the battle for Terengganu but the crowd wanted to hear directly from Dr Mahathir why they should desert Umno and PAS for Pakatan Harapan.‎ 

They were not interested in what the mainstream newspapers or PAS and Umno leaders had sketched about ‎the former prime minister, they wanted first-hand news.

Some came from Kuala Terengganu and other districts in the east coast state.

How different from 1999 when voters in the state shocked many by kicking out Umno/Barisan Nasional for the first time and installed Abdul Hadi Awang’s PAS in power.

That rejection from the mainly Malay electorate was on the back of Dr Mahathir’ss sacking and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim. That was the last time Dr Mahathir led BN in a general election, retiring in late 2003.

How times have changed.

Last night, ‎ a visibly exhausted Dr Mahathir exhorted Terengganu residents to vote for PH, which faces an uphill battle in a state that is dominated by BN and PAS.

“I came to listen to what he had to say. Although I may vote differently, I still wanted to think about what Tun had to say,” said Nora, a civil servant.

“Many of my friends are upset over the cost of living and may vote for the opposition, but I am still trying to decide,” said the 49-year-old who works in Kuala Terengganu.

PH faces BN and PAS candidates in 32 state and eight parliamentary seats. It currently holds the one parliamentary seat of Kuala Terengganu and the Bandar state seat.

In the 13th general election, the Dungun parliamentary seat was won by PAS’ Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli by 3,942 votes.

PAS’ dominating presence in this east coast state was not lost on Dr Mahathir, who is PH’s prime minister candidate.

“When I was driving down, I noticed that there were more PAS flags than BN ones. But I know that no matter how many flags you have, what is more important is how many hearts you can win,” said Dr Mahathir to cheers from the crowd.

However, Dr Mahathir focused most of his criticism on BN and the caretaker prime minister, urging the crowd not to be taken in by the latter’s bribes and promises.

“If he offers money, take it, because it comes from us anyway. But we need to change the government because the one we have now is a kleptocracy.”

Did his message sink in? Will it have an effect on the overall outcome in Terengganu? Perhaps not but one fact is unmistakable: Dr Mahathir Mohamad 2.0 is a draw everywhere in Malaysia, even where ‎they once rejected him. – May 1, 2018.