KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 – Noted for his smiling disposition and hospitality, Hulu Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate P. Kamalanathan has certainly, carved a positive niche for himself among the 85,697 registered voters here.
A check by Bernama in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency, which is bigger than the state of Melaka, showed that people here are more familiar with Kamalanathan, as compared to the three other candidates vying for the seat.
Siti Ramah Khusairy, popularly known as ‘Mak Mah’ in Bukit Beruntung, said she liked Kamal (as Kamalanathan is fondly called in Hulu Selangor) very much, as the latter was very fond of the local communities.
“Dia selalu beli kuih dekat kedai saya. Setiap kali datang, YB Nathan akan pasti memberi salam dan mencium tangan saya,” the 67-year-old stall operator told Bernama.
Mohd Hakim Junaidi, 36, meanwhile, said even though Hulu Selangor was geographically large, Kamalanathan could be seen in most, if not all events pertaining to the local communities.
Without interest in politics, Kevin Lim Jui Meng, 35, said Kamalanathan was known among the local Chinese community as the
“charming, smiling face” in their respective dialects, mainly due to his smiling face and natural behavior.
“We like to see him as he is always smiling and cheerful which makes us more comfortable to approach him for something,” said the car mechanic in Batang Kali.
Septuagenarian Manickam Veerasamy, who will be the deciding factor of another 13 votes in his house, said he had not decided on his choice of candidate, but Kamalanathan was surely one of the frontliners.
“When he came to my house the other day, he sought for my blessings and I was very touched when he touched my feet (for the blessings),” said the 72-year-old retired oil palm estate manager.
Proudly declaring that Kamalanathan was her choice, Komala Thiruchelvam, 31, said the BN candidate would be the right person to bring Hulu Selangor forward, as his cheerful, friendly and humble personality could be translated into social and economic development in the constituency.
When met at his service centre in Bukit Beruntung, Kamalanathan said he was working almost 18 hours a day, to meet and greet almost all Hulu Selangor residents.
“Hulu Selangor needs more development, both infrastructurally and economically, to enable the locals here to be in-line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s high-income goal,” he said.
Kamalanathan, who won the Hulu Selangor seat by a majority of 1,725 votes in a 2010 by-election, said other than the national manifesto, he had drafted an in-depth Hulu Selangor manifesto, which highlighted solutions to specific issues revolving around Hulu Selangor, such as safety, security and social well-being.
“A vote for me is a vote for BN. I can definitely do more in the next five years, from what I have done in the past three years. Now, I know the people and the issues here well,” he said.
Incumbent Kamalanathan will be challenged by Khalid Jaafar from Parti Keadilan Rakyat and two independents, Datuk Seri Dr R. Santhara Kumar and Radzali Mokhtar.
Of the 85,697 registered Hulu Selangor voters, the Malays constitute 56.81 per cent, Chinese (23.43 per cent) while the Indian and others constitute 17.63 per cent and 0.11 per cent, respectively.
BERNAMA
