A SURGE in middle-class Malay voters in the Shah Alam parliamentary constituency this election will pose the biggest challenge to incumbent Khalid Samad in his bid to retain his seat, said a political analyst.

Despite winning with a massive majority of almost 11,000 votes in the 13th general election, Khalid will have to work even harder this time round to keep Shah Alam from his competitors, said Ilham Centre’s Hisomuddin Bakar.

Hisomuddin said non-Malay voters, specifically the ethnic Chinese, had supported the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition in the last election.

However, with the redelineation of the Shah Alam seat for GE14, the number of non-Malay voters has decreased.

The percentage of Malay voters has gone up by almost 10% while ethnic Chinese voters have dropped by almost 5%.

“Khalid’s strength will be tested in how the urban Malays will decide. In the past, votes for Pakatan Rakyat came largely from the non-Malays.

“This time, because a portion of those votes have been moved, I believe we will see a close fight between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan,” Hisomuddin told Malaysia Decides.

A total of 99,957 voters were registered in Shah Alam in the 13th general election, with Malay, Chinese, and Indian voters making up 69%, 15%, and 14% of voters respectively.

In this election, the total number of voters have increased to 107,316.

Malay voters have increased to 76%, while Chinese and Indians have dropped to 11% and 13% respectively.

He said that urban voters were concerned about issues different from those that concerned rural Malays.

“They are less affected by the cost of living issue, and the fact that DAP is now in PH is one of the reasons why Khalid will need to work hard to get their vote,” he said. – May 4, 2018.