KUANTAN: It is a typical night in a Chinese food court here. The smell of spices and oils fill the air as diners chat amid the clanging of spatulas against woks and the roar of vehicles on the streets outside.
But now and then the chatter and clangor are drowned by cries of “Ini kali lah” and “Ubah” as a tudung-clad woman stops at tables to introduce herself.
PKR election candidate Fuziah Salleh, who is defending her Kuantan parliament seat, looked out of place in her traditional Malay clothing and modest bearing, but only to an observer standing a far distance away.
Get closer and one could see that she was clearly at home with her people. They greeted her warmly and bantered with her as they gamely pinned onto their shirts the badges bearing her smiling face, which she was distributing.
Several diners refused her campaign materials, but not because they supported her opponent, Umno’s Mohammad Suffian Awang, but because they wanted her to save them for others. They said they already knew what to vote for: Change.
“’Fifth of May, change of government, 5th of May, change of government.’ That’s what they say at every table,” a beaming Fuziah told FMT as she took a brief break from her walkabout.
She said she was “humbly” confident she had fulfilled her duties well in a state ruled by BN and a constituency filled with BN state assemblymen.
“Our service centre has been very active for the past five years. We have worked hard. We have not stopped.
“And our track record, our report card, shows that we have solved over 8,000 cases in the last four years.”
Nevertheless, most would recognise her as the face of the campaign against Lynas Corporation’s rare earth plant in Gebeng, on the outskirts of the state capital.
“Kuantan is our ground for the anti-Lynas campaign and I was the one who started everything in 2008, right?” she said.
“So I think everyone remembers me. Some of these aunties didn’t recognise my face, but when my name was mentioned, they immediately said they knew me.”
Assurances
She said she was not surprised by the enthusiastic response of the dining crowd because Kuantan folk, particularly the Chinese, were highly concerned about the alleged health hazards posed by the Lynas plant’s radioactive waste.
Several diners and hawkers actually interrupted the FMT interview several times in order to introduce themselves to Fuziah and assure her of their support.
Fuziah told FMT what really surprised her was the warmth with which the Malays received her on nomination day.
She said most of the Malays in the constituency were rural folk and she confessed that she thought they were more interested in cash vouchers than political change.
“When I was on my way to the nomination centre, people honked their cars when they saw me,” she recalled. “They were waving. And these are Malay families, all young.
“I was very, very surprised.
“I think in general the Chinese community is just fed up with the existing government. But with Malays it’s about the personal touch and the service we have given all this while.”
Feeling sorry for her rival
Fuziah said she was confident she would keep the Kuantan seat.
“I feel sorry for Suffian,” she said.
“He’s young and it’s his first time contesting in an election. If he doesn’t make it, it’s the end of his political career. I believe that there’s someone out there who wants him out of the political scene.”
She said Suffian, who is youth chief for Umno Kuantan, would have been better off fielded as a candidate for a state seat.
“But, well, that’s politics in Umno,” she added with a shrug.
But she stressed that she would not fall into the trap of underestimating her opponent despite his youth.
“He may be young, he may not have the baggage. However, he comes from … a rotten party.
“I don’t believe people who believe in reform can actually survive in Umno and BN. There are one or two, but they are a rare species in BN and I don’t think they can go far.”
Despite her confidence of a win, Fuziah said she would continue to campaign hard and meet as many voters as possible.
Should she win her seat again and should Pakatan win Parliament, Kuantan would no doubt see some dramatic changes as the PKR leader has plenty of ideas for Pahang’s future.
In 2008, Kuantan was one of only two parliament seats that PKR won out of Pahang’s 14. The other was Indera Mahkota.
