KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Former Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail signalled the start of her general election (GE15) campaign for the Bandar Tun Razak constituency with a walkabout at the Desa Tun Razak People’s Housing Project (PPR) today.
After her visit, Malay Mail spoke to residents of the low-cost flats about what they expect from their next parliamentary representative and came away with a mixed bag of reactions.
Clearly excited about the PKR stalwart and incumbent Pandan MP contesting in her constituency was 61-year-old housewife Rosminah Ibrahim.
Rosminah said she was grateful to have such an influential leader as Dr Wan Azizah potentially acting as the voice of the people of Bandar Tun Razak in Parliament and that she admired Dr Wan Azizah for her staunch support of women’s issues.
“As a woman myself, I am definitely excited about Dr Wan Azizah contesting in my constituency because when she was the deputy prime minister, she was very concerned about women’s issues, especially those that involved housewives, single mothers and divorcees.
“I will support her and definitely want her to win,” she said with a big grin.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old sugarcane and coconut water stall owner Aman Aziz said that no matter who prevails in GE15, the winner must improve the PPR’s security as the rise in petty crime, such as shoplifting and vehicle theft, was very worrying.
He also said that while it was great to see politicians showing up in his area, it was more important for them to implement policies that ensure low- to middle-income communities feel safe and comfortable in their own neighbourhoods.
“I have lived here for almost 20 years and hearing people lose their motorbikes and cars saddens me greatly because almost everyone here depends on their vehicle to get to work and to send their children to school.
“When they lose what is likely the only vehicle that they own, it makes it difficult for them to go about their daily routine,” he said, while preparing sugarcane before opening his stall for the day.
On the other hand, 65-year-old Letchieman Selampam, who will be voting in Bandar Tun Razak for the first time, told Malay Mail that he had yet to find a reason to go out and cast his ballot this year despite always making a point to in the past.
After recently changing his voting constituency to Bandar Tun Razak from Lembah Pantai, he said it was very hard for him to decide which political party was better amid all the controversies.
“I think I am not the only one who is tired of our politics, especially after what has happened over the last few years. But I will definitely decide whether I am going out to vote in the next few weeks.
“I understand it is our constitutional duty and not something that we can just dismiss. I hope that my choice of representative will do their best for the people of Bandar Tun Razak,” said the convenience store worker.
Yesterday, sources told news portal Malaysiakini that Dr Wan Azizah will not be defending the Pandan seat as she was set to stand in Bandar Tun Razak.
Aside from being a former deputy prime minister, she was previously also the Pakatan Harapan chairman and PKR president before making way for her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The late Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim won the Bandar Tun Razak seat as a PKR member in both the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
He was also appointed as the Selangor mentri besar in 2008.
However, PKR sacked Khalid in 2014 after he refused to make way for Dr Wan Azizah to replace him as the mentri besar.
In the 2018 general election, PKR won the seat once again with Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar, who quit the party after the Sheraton Move in February 2020.
