AT sunset yesterday, business was brisk at the two petrol stations in Selama, an otherwise sleepy town some 45km north of Taiping, Perak.

Dozens of vehicles made their way to the pumps, past hundreds more that lined streets usually traversed only by oil palm plantation workers.

“‘Saya nak dengar apa yang semua orang kata dulu’ (I want to hear what everyone has to say first),” said Mat Ramzi Mohd, a self-confessed fence-sitter who travelled with his wife by motorcycle from Kampung Kelian Gunung, a half-hour’s ride away.

The draw was Ceramah Perdana organised by Pakatan Harapan, featuring the usual coterie of Amanah leaders, but with the addition of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the final speaker. Some 1,000 people turned up. 

“PAS, Umno, every party has promised me something,” said Mat Ramzi, 64, a retired Army Ranger. 

“But I know the economy is in trouble and I’ve heard explanations that it is due to corruption. I’m here to hear what Tun (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) has to say about it.”

Selama, a 90% Malay majority state seat, is under Umno, but by a relatively small margin. 

In the 2013 election, Umno’s Mohd Daud Mohd Yusoff won with a 619 majority, garnering 6,854 votes against PAS Mohd Akmal Kamaruddin’s 6,235 votes.  

Though the roads leading to Selama is lined with oil palm estates, the nearest Felda settlement is a half-hour drive south in Kamunting.

Selama, along with neighbouring Kubu Gajah and Batu Kurau form the Larut parliamentary seat, is held by Umno’s Hamzah Zainuddin, who is minister of domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism.

Hamzah won with a 5,296 majority in a contest which saw 39,350 voters go to the polls. Amanah Larut chief Razali Ismail finds the figures exciting.

“We are gaining momentum. All it takes is a 10% swing in Malay votes and BN would collapse here. The seats here are more vulnerable than people think. 

Razali believes PAS will retain “undi asal” (their original votes) and hopes to recreate the “‘99 sentiment”, where the Malays came out strongly following outrage over the sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“Three-cornered fights can no longer be avoided. From what we see, their core members are only a few hundred people. Maybe 200.” 

“We believe Tun can draw in the listeners. It’s definitely a grey area and we think we can swing it in our favour,” he said. 

An irony was that the night’s draw was Dr Mahathir, who sacked Anwar nearly 20 years ago. The former prime minister is now chairman of the opposition coalition.

Azman Ismail, 32 from the neighbouring town of Kubu Gajah said the past no longer mattered.

“I’m confident the people want to hear Tun Mahathir’s views,” said Azman, who does odd jobs.

“The most important thing is that the people feel the cost of things are going up. The poor are getting poorer.”

“Tun says we can do something to change things. I want to see things change,” he said.

Not everyone caught what was being said by Dr Mahathir and other speakers on the stage opposite the petrol station on the main Selama road.

One of them was Govinda Muthusamy, a Selama resident since 1992, who was busy attending to the fuel pumps. 

“No, I don’t know anything about 1MDB (state investor fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad). I just know things are expensive now,’ said Govinda, 61, a grandfather, originally from Seberang Perai.

Govinda said his biggest concern was rising food costs.

“My family likes to eat fish every week. Fish fried with sambal; Ikan temenggong, ikan kayu. But they are RM13 per kilo now. It used to be RM5,” he added.

“We still eat the fish, just less of it. Maybe soon, we won’t eat them anymore.” – September 23, 2017.