ALOR SETAR, Nov 10 — Low Seng Song, a resident of Rumah Pangsa Simpang Kuala in the Kedah state capital for 35 years, has voted at every general election since he came of age. But with the 15th general election coming up next week, the 77-year-old is not certain how he will vote, if at all.

It’s not that he doesn’t care about the future of the country at his age or indifferent to politics, but with seven candidates racing for the Alor Setar parliamentary seat, and most of them new faces, he has found himself overwhelmed.

"I know the Harapan logo, but if you ask me now who I will vote for, I don't know. I'll decide later, but the other logos I am unfamiliar with. Haven't seen them yet,” the former medicine salesman told Malay Mail when met at the ground floor of one of the 20 blocks of low-rise, low-cost flats one afternoon during a break in the rainy season.

Alor Setar will see a seven-cornered fight for the first time in its history with candidates. Three are candidates from the three main coalitions in the peninsula: Tan Chee Siong from the Barisan Nasional (BN), Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamuddin from Perikatan Nasional (PN), and Simon Ooi from Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Two more candidates are from fledgling parties: Datuk Mohamad Nuhairi Rahmat representing Pejuang, the latest Malay party founded in 2020 by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; and Datuk Fadzil Hanafi from Warisan, originally a Sabah-based party that has since spread its wings across the South China Sea.

The remaining two candidates are independents: former Kedah Works Department director Datuk Nordin Yunus, and another former civil servant Sofan Feroza Md Yusup.

But Low’s familiarity with the PH coalition logo does not mean he will definitely vote for the Opposition bloc on November 19.

"In my opinion, however, sometimes Barisan Nasional can do a better job. Mind you, last time everyone who competed here were from MCA and also it wasn't like this year where we're looking at seven candidates. Before this, it was one-against-one, easy to choose,” the bespectacled man said with a smile.

"As for Mahathir Mohamad, I feel people may not make him their first choice but that's what people say. Who knows what they are really thinking. I saw his tent pitched nearby on the street but I don't recognise the logo,” Low added.

Another long-time resident Mohd Nasir, who has been living at this People’s Housing Project for the past 18 years, also said he was more familiar with the political logos than the candidates standing for elections.

The school guard said he recognised the PH and BN logos, but had no idea what the Pejuang and Warisan logos looked like.

"Only after you told me Mahathir's party tent was pitched on the main road did I realise it was there,” Nasir told Malay Mail.

He thought that PH could have done a better job with running the country if it was allowed to serve its full tenure in office after winning the 14th general election.

But he also said he is willing to vote for an independent "as long as they do their work”.

"Now we look at all the familiar parties and their logos like they're the symbol of hope. But I would love to have a good candidate who cares about our welfare more than theirs. After this 15th general election I hope the government can improve our economy and create more job opportunities as right now we're all having a hard time,” he said.

A younger resident who gave his name as Fuad was stitching broken car seats on his tiny porch when approached.

The 37-year-old said he has been working odd jobs to earn a daily wage to survive.

Fuad said the housing project had been neglected and that when residents made complaints, the authorities dawdled.

He recalled a time when he made a complaint and was told by the authorities that repairs would be carried out in return for their votes.

As such he said, he has become jaded. He also said he was confused by the many logos in this election. He wasn't sure what Warisan and Pejuang were, but recognised Dr Mahathir.

"The previous representatives rarely came here only in the early days then again once an election is close. With all these new faces and candidates my head is spinning.

"I want to vote for the right candidate but I'm also trying not to be influenced by the familiarity and popularity of parties like BN and PH. After this election no matter whom I pick I just want someone to look after the youth and please find a way to provide us with more jobs,” Fuad said.

What they want

When asked, most of the Rumah Pangsa Simpang Kuala residents said what they wanted was basic but proper infrastructure.

Pointing to their three-storey flats, they said upkeep was sorely lacking. The walkways were cracked, which posed a hazard for many of the elderly residents when they walked out to dispose of their garbage at the large bins placed on Jalan Simpang Kuala, the main road.

Parking bays were also limited at their flats, and many units had motorcycles parked right outside their doors, which added to the hazard.

The water pressure was also poor, they complained, so much so that some of the top floors of the 20 blocks are now untenanted.

But their biggest worry was their roof. Looking up, there were pieces of roofing that dangled and flapped in the wind. The residents feared that at the next big storm, those pieces would fly and hurt someone below.

A man who only wanted to be known as Adam was vigorously cleaning the walkway in front of his unit but paused for a chat about the upcoming election when approached.

Asked if he was familiar with the political parties and the candidates, he admitted that he wasn’t. But he said that would not stop him from knowing how to choose.

Urged to elaborate, Adam said that though he was a Malay and a Muslim, he would not vote along racial lines, or for BN or anyone affiliated with the "dacing” (weighing scales, which is the BN’s logo) because he was fed up with Umno as he viewed them as corrupt.

His eyes lit up at the mention of Dr Mahathir, though he fumbled with the veteran politician’s party name.

"Oh yeah, what's his [party] called again? Peluang, Pejuang? Either way I feel that during Tun's time corruption wasn't so rife and the government was way better than the ones that came after.

"There wasn't so much corruption unlike now where any discerning and concerned citizen will realise almost every level of government is corrupt and no one wants to do honest work.

"That's why I don't like Umno and it's difficult to say it out loud because the Malays here are very protective and racist, they will only vote the Malay-Muslim candidate and if you say otherwise as a Malay-Muslim they will ostracise you,” said Adam who gave his profession as an accountant.

He said that politics had divided the residents at the flats along partisan lines to the extent that had even stopped talking to each other.

"So when I stop talking or showing support to Umno, the people here ignore me. Well that's OK with me, I want the best for my country.

"It's sad to see people fighting, not being friends with one another because of these unscrupulous individuals who pretend to care for them,” he added.

Like Adam, another resident who wished to be known as Wan was more than willing to talk to Malay Mail about the election and politics.

He declined to give his full name and have his photograph taken as he was in uniform.

As far as Wan was concerned, all the political parties and three coalitions that had governed Malaysia since 2018 were poor at running the country, looking after the welfare of its citizens and were terrible at finding ways to fix the economy.

"These people don't want to help us, they want to fill their pockets first. Everything is PM, PM, PM, PM. They all want to be prime minister. Nobody cares about anything else,” he said.

"That's why I don't have a clue who I'm going to vote for whether PAS, BN or whomever; all the same.

"Even for Tun at his age, it's hard to put that vote for him and trust him. Let someone new get a chance lah, right? I want to see more youngsters in politics and give it a shot, learning, improving, having high-energy and hopefully a mind that is for the people not for the money and power,” he added.

But Wan was full of praise for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is now PH’s prime minister candidate.

He recalled the days when Anwar was in the government in the 1990s, saying the latter had handled the Asian financial crisis well back then.

"But in the 22 months PH was in office and Lim Guan Eng was the finance minister it was chaotic. Tabung Haji dividends he reduced it to 2 per cent from 8 in prior years. PH shouldn't have done that, we needed that money for a lot of things,” Wan said.

In the past two general elections, PKR had won Alor Setar with a comfortable margin.

In Election 2018, Chan Ming Kai bagged 32,475 votes, beating his closest competitor Muhammad Aminur Shafiq from PAS by a 15,200-vote majority.

In 2013, Gooi Hsiao Leong was the PKR candidate and garnered 27,364 votes, edging out second placed BN’s Tan Sri Chor Chee Heung who got 25,491 votes by a margin of 1,873 votes.

Gooi and Chor had first battled each other in Election 2008, with the latter narrowly winning by only 184 votes.