ALOR SETAR, Nov 8 — Simon Ooi hopes his track record as a two-term state assemblyman will stand him in good stead and that the people of Alor Setar will pick him as their Parliamentary representative when they vote on November 19.
The Kedah-born state executive said he hoped that the voters will not vote along racial lines but choose the person best suited for the job.
Simon, when met today, said he can ill afford to take things for granted, with a total of seven candidates competing for the seat.
"I think one of the challenges will be convincing the public not to vote along racial lines as we've seen this come to the forefront once again this campaign.
"As an Adun and state exco member, I've been working for the people for 12 years and have a good understanding of what the area is like what it needs, and its potential for growth.
"In addition the people of Kedah are smart. Once they take some time to analyse they will know who has been working for them and putting their well-being first so, unlike others, I will not look down on my opponents and hope the voters will give me the mandate to serve them as an MP," he said when met today.
Alor Setar is the capital of Kedah and, according to Simon, the driving force behind its economy is agriculture and trade.
He mentioned wanting to promote the tourism sector as Kedah is close to Thailand and is also a historical state. It shares an international boundary with Songkhla and Yala provinces in Thailand and borders the state of Perak.
"Our arts and crafts sector is big and I want to promote these sectors, bring a breath of fresh air to tourism, improve our public housing, and enhance education. We have a lot of talented Malaysians who make self-made products that need to be marketed and I want to help them.
"This way hopefully we can create more jobs for the youth so they don't have to struggle and go to Penang or Kuala Lumpur to look for jobs."
Simon stands in stark contrast to his closest opponent Barisan Nasional (BN) Tan Chee Siong. Tan was confident he can wrest Alor Setar from PH's hands with strong grassroots support.
Simon on the other hand is soft-spoken. He has a gentle way with the public and has a discerning ear. He communicates well with the people and voters gravitated toward him.
He was also patient with them as some had come to express distress about their living conditions and unhappiness at the state of politics in the country. Simon took all of it in his stride.
When asked what he wants voters to think about before deciding who to pick, Simon said apart from the candidate, the party they represent must have a strong voice in Putrajaya.
"We need a party that is impactful in Putrajaya and PH has always championed the people's rights regardless of race and religion.
"I feel we have the momentum but I'm not going to get ahead of myself. I will continue to meet the people on the ground and let me prove to the voters why they should pick me and make Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim the next prime minister.
"Together we will rid the nation of corruption," he said.
Apart from Tan, the other candidates in Alor Setar are Perikatan Nasional's Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamuddin, Datuk Mohamad Nuhairi Rahmat of Pejuang, Datuk Fadzil Hanafi from Warisan and independent candidates — former state Works Department director Datuk Nordin Yunus and former civil servant Sofan Feroza Md Yusup.
This is the first time in election history that seven candidates are vying for the Alor Setar parliamentary seat. The previous high was four candidates in the 13th general election of 2013.
In the 14th general election four years ago, PH fielded Chan Ming Kai and won by a whopping 15,200-vote majority over his closest rival Muhammad Aminur Shafiq Mohamad Abduh from PAS.
