Syed Saddiq to take on deputy minister in Muar

Kamles Kumar Kamles Kumar Updated 6 years ago · Published on 21 Mar 2018 7:00AM · 6 Comments

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, 25, has been engaged in a Twitter war with deputy minister Razali Ibrahim over the Muar seat. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 21, 2018.

MARK this down as one of the battles of the 14th general election. Call it David versus Goliath. Or just think of it as the fresh face versus the battle-tested campaigner.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, one of Bersatu’s most followed leaders on social media, is set to go up against deputy minister Razali Ibrahim in Muar, said sources in Bersatu.

Sources told The Malaysian Insight that the party has agreed to field the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) graduate against Razali, who is a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and three-term incumbent in the Johor constituency.

“He has been given the green light to contest in Muar. It is as good as confirmed but we don’t know if there are any last-minute changes,” one source said.  

Another source said Muar is a marginal seat (4%) and the mixed-race profile of the seat suited Syed Saddiq.

Razali, who first won the seat in 2004, defended Muar after polling 20,867 votes against PKR’s Nor Hizwan Ahmad (19,221 votes) in the 2013 elections.

The Muar seat consists of 62% Malays, Chinese (35%) and Indians (1%).

When contacted by The Malaysian Insight, Syed Saddiq declined to confirm or deny whether he would be contesting in Muar. 

Meanwhile, Razali remain unfazed with the prospects of facing Syed Saddiq in GE14.

“I don’t care about him. This is a democracy and he can contest anywhere he wants. We need to work on our machinery. We cannot let other problems hinder our momentum,” said Razali when met at Parliament.

Syed Saddiq and Razali have been trading barbs on Twitter with the latter welcoming him to contest in Muar but noting that the voters in the southern state seat were an astute lot. 

Razali also chided Syed Saddiq for not knowing the Muar constituents.

Muar is a marginal seat but many Malays are angry with Bersatu for trying to split their votes. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 21, 2018.

The 25-year old rebutted, saying that he was well versed with issues in Muar and if given a chance to contest, he would capture the seat.

Besides Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, PAS-led Gagasan Sejahtera is also expected to field a candidate, making it a three-way contest.

The Muar parliamentary constituency has two state seats – Maharani and Sungai Balang.

In the last elections, Maharani fell to PAS’ Mohammad Taslim while Sungai Balang was won by BN’s Zaiton Ismail.

In a poll conducted by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research in January, 51% of 1,007 Johoreans polled said they would give other parties a chance to administer the state.

Chinese voters were the most receptive to change at 69% followed by Indians (50%) and Malays (39%).

However, people in Muar have previously expressed their discontentment with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Bersatu as they feel that they were dividing the Malays in Johor. 

Johor is looking to be one of the front-line states in GE14 as PH aims to break Umno’s dominance in the southern state. – March 21, 2018.

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Comments

  • I vote in ledang, which is like the parliamentary seat next to muar, and i think If you are below 30 or you are chinese and you live in the city part of muar you would likely vote for the kid, but If you are above 30 and you are not chinese and you live in the outskirts of muar city, you will likely vote for the incumbent. The chinese would vote for the kid because he stands with the opposition, and the chinese would vote for the oppositon even if a tree stump stood on their ticket. Millenials would vote for the kid because millenials look up to this kid - he is like their political idol - but with older people though , it is a different story. Older people would probably rate the kid as how an old people generally find millenials - not positively. I think one of the most important thing the kid need to do when he campaigns in muar is shut up and tone down on his confidence level a notch . In places like muar, we judge a politician not by what they say, but by how they look. If the kid doesn't say much, he is not going to lose any vote, because nobody is really listening to what politicians say anyway, but if he talks less, maybe that aura which millenial's thinks exudes confidence but which rubs older people the wrong way because it appears in our eyes as brashness, might not show much, and gain him extra votes. If the kid plays it right, the malays who are dissapointed or disgruntled with the government will vote for him, but if he play it wrong, it would probably go to PAS. I think the kid should pay extra attention to the indian vote too - indians are an undecided lot in this election, but i think the indians would favour a young pleasant unknown personality over an older staid incumbent. All the kid will have to do is be pleasant andlikeable. If the kid plays it right, i think overall, the kid has a 55 to 45 chance of winning. The only question is , will he play it right ?

    Posted 6 years ago by Nehru Sathiamoorthy · Reply

    • Nehru’s comment above is about the most objective bullsh-free comment I have ever read about Malaysian politics. Here is a realist, a rare commodity in Malaysia. A man who sees politics for what it is. Ideas and ideology are minor considerations in this exercise in self promotion

      Posted 6 years ago by Dennis Madden · Reply

    • Sure or not !!! . Base on what tangible analysis is that piece of info from Nehru . Totally wrong in his statement that older folks viewed the millenials in different light , mabe so if it is the millenial that sit on the bed and waiting for things to happen for him but definitely not those who are up and about to get things done for their own or others. Asking a younger and upcoming politician not to express too much on his views but just to smile and win votes by charismatic appeal is way out of absurdity. Good about it is that both of you are not in the think tank strategy team of his. Why not share your skill set of analysis and school the UmnoBN on that. I believe the Rakayat would love it very much as our ears do really needs a break from all their unintelligent and gibbersih spewing from their mouth diarrhea.

      Posted 6 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • Razali said that the voters in the southern state seat were an astute lot. Astute mean showing an ability to accurately assess situations, therefore, this lot of people know that the country has been called Kleptocracy, so cannot be good under present govt. so astute people will vote for Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
    On the other hand, if this lot of people is shallow and ignorant, then Razali stand a good chance!

    Posted 6 years ago by Yong Yeok Fong · Reply

  • For a three-term incumbent, the astute people of Muar must have picked Razali Ibrahim based on his party affiliation and not his sterling performance as a politician. The dude isn't well known even though the man is a deputy minister. Wtf does he do in the PM department? Saddiq does have a fighting chance to cause an upset in this constituency. He must work very hard to convince Muar folks to give him the mandate.

    Posted 6 years ago by Chris Sav · Reply

  • A contestant like Syed Saddiq with a law background is usually well regarded during election time..

    Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply