NAJIB Razak’s walkabout in Kampung Sungai Kandis was bound to deliver the votes for the party’s candidate in the by-election, as the party had captured the polling district centre in the last polls with ease.

The walkabout with BN candidate Lokman Noor Adam was carefully choreographed, and the 10 houses he visited were all Umno supporters.

And despite being blamed for Barisan Nasional’s shocking defeat in the 14th general election, Najib was well-received by all he greeted on the walkabout.

“I’m glad he came to my house. I was only informed that a Yang Berhormat would visit my house, but I didn’t expect Najib to come. So I was really surprised when I saw him.  

“I have long supported Umno and will not change my support,” a visibly delighted Pasringah Simun, who has been living in the village since 1964, told The Malaysian Insight.

Out of 19 polling district centres in the Sungai Kandis constituency, only two were won by BN’s GE14 candidate, Kamaruzzaman Johari. One was Kampung Sungai Kandis and the other was Kampung Pandan.  

This is the first by-election after the general election on May 9 following the passing of Shuhaimi Shafiei on July 2.

“I believe Najib’s presence today will strengthen our support base here,” Rumilah Johari, 55, said.  

“God willing, BN will be able to wrest back the seat,” she said.  

Earlier this month, Najib was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of using his position for gratification.

The four charges are under the Penal Code and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act. All charges carry a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine.

The first charge was for using his posts as prime minister and finance minister to receive gratification totalling RM42 million between August 17, 2011 and February 2012.

Another resident, Azryman Mohd Yusof, 50, predicted that Umno would win the by-election with support from PAS supporters.  

PAS fielded a candidate in the May 9 polls, but is opting out this time to give Umno a straight fight with the PKR candidate in the Malay-majority seat.

“Malay votes were split previously, so this by-election will be used as a platform to send a message to the government that they cannot undermine the people’s power.  

“BN is the only party that respects the federal constitution, protects the royal institution, and defends Malay rights,” he said.

In May, Shuhaimi polled 23,998 votes to win with a majority of 12,480. BN’s Kamaruzzaman Johari garnered 11,518 votes, while PAS’ Yusof Abdullah got 7,573. PRM’s Hanafiah Husin mustered only 76 votes out of 50,800.

Sungai Kandis Umno branch chief Ibrahim Redwan said it was the first time Najib came to the village, one of Umno’s strongholds in the constituency, which boosted the machinery’s spirits to work harder to deliver votes. 

He also said the cordial relationship between PAS and Umno branches in the area would further help Umno gain more votes.

“In Sungai Kandis, we (PAS and Umno) are like brothers. We have always been together, because we only have one mosque here where we gather and have our discussions like brothers.  

“Most of the young voters that we met are tired of the current government, because they can’t fulfill their election promises.

“We have four streams in this polling district centre. Umno won the first two and lost the third and fourth, but due to the young voters’ frustration, this is our chance to convince them to vote for BN,” he said.  

The Sungai Kandis by-election will see a three-cornered fight between Lokman, PKR’s Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, and independent K. Murthy. The seat is the result of redrawn electoral boundaries, and was previously called Seri Andalas.  

The constituency, previously a mixed seat, has 51,230 registered voters, comprising 51,217 ordinary voters and 13 overseas voters.  

Of the 51,230 registered voters, 24,998 are male (48.8%) and 26,232 are female (51.2%).

71.34% of the voters are Malays, 15.69% Indians, and 11.75% Chinese.

Polling is on August 4. – July 25, 2018.