PKR’s decision to move Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin to contest in Bagan Datuk is because the party believed the incumbent Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s hold in the seat is weakening.

Shamsul said the move to send him to challenge the five-term MP was based on data, and not because his party wants to punish him or end his career.

“There are several factors to this – firstly, the Hutan Melintang Army camp, which has now been closed after 2018, so that’s more or less 2,000 votes taken out from Zahid’s vote bank.

“There is also an additional 15,000 new voters for the seat – particularly from the youth segment. 

“In the last election, Zahid won with only 5,073 votes. Adding all these factors, it is definitely doable (for me) to close the gap,” the former Hang Tuah Jaya MP was quoted as saying in an interview with The Vibes. 

Zahid has been Bagan Datuk MP since 1995. The seat, located in southern Perak and bordering Selangor, is a Malay-majority seat (60%), followed by Chinese (18%), Indian (22%), and others (1%). It has about 59,000 registered voters. 

In the last general election in 2018, Zahid retained the seat with a 5,073-vote majority after defeating PKR’s Pakhrurrazi Arshad and PAS’ Ata Abdul Muneim Hasan Adli.

According to reports, Zahid’s support base comes largely from the Jawa community and the Telugu community. 

Shamsul said he was engaging the Telugu community with the help of local community leaders in order to get their support. 

“We are receiving good feedback from the community and are making headway day by day. It will take a bit of time but we are confident of winning their votes overall,’’ he said. 

However, the PKR man admitted it is difficult to convince the Jawa community. 

Zahid is from the Jawa community, drawing his strong grassroots support from them, while even using the Javanese language in his campaigns. 

“Jawa people are very rich in culture and very Islamic. So I am relying on my credentials, having graduated from the International Islamic University (Malaysia) and spending every prayer time to visit mosques and surau within this community,” said Shamsul. 

Bagan Datuk will see a four-cornered fight involving Zahid, Shamsul, Perikatan Nasional’s Muhammad Faiz Na’aman, and Independent Mohamed Tawfik Ismail. – November 12, 2022.