KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 ― In the running to defend Pakatan Harapan's reign over the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat against six others, Datuk R. Ramanan is facing fierce competition ― yet, one settled civil court case from 2014 quickly resurfaced after his candidacy was announced, and had led to many questioning the credibility of this candidate.

But popularity and being liked by the public is something the 41-year-old first-time contester has little interest in.

“What's being reported about me is not what's important to me ― whether it's good, bad, positive, or negative ― the message that I'm delivering on the ground to my voters is what's important,” he said during an interview with Malay Mail recently.

“This is not a popularity contest. The youth today are not interested in how many people take pictures with you.

“You can be Instagram famous but that doesn't mean you are a person who is going to serve the public, because well if that was the case, the president of America will be Justin Bieber and not Joe Biden,” Ramanan said jokingly.

Ramanan believes that his strategy of sharing his solutions to the people's problems will secure him enough votes for victory.

He added that his priority now is to win in Sungai Buloh instead of fixing the negative public perception that people outside of the constituency have formed of him.

On Saturday, Ramanan launched his personal manifesto he dubbed “solutions,” which he claims does not require state or federal resources to be implemented.

The solutions included a subsidy program to help the B40 group with groceries, a women-specific business training program, a super sports centre, a smart app for emergencies, an even pledged to channel his salary as MP to the people's welfare if elected.

But he said the main issues that Sungai Buloh residents face are the result of poor urban planning: roads, floods, and traffic jams.

“The feedback I receive is good because they believe that the approach that I'm taking is something that is believable, and it's not false promises and a false sense of hope that I'm giving them.

“I'm not going to give you a 15-, 16-page manifesto that I cannot deliver, because I want to be honest,” he said.

'Khairy a master of disguise'

When asked about how social media presence will play a part in the outcome of the election this Saturday, Ramanan said that online support can be easily fabricated, but does not reflect on-the-ground realities.

“True social media presence is very important. But fabricated social media presence, orchestrated social media presence... that is not a gauge of popularity, that is not a gauge of support,” he said.

He also alleged that Barisan Nasional's Khairy Jamaluddin, who was parachuted from his Rembau seat to contest in Sungai Buloh, had misled the public into believing he was well-liked in the Negri Sembilan town.

“I believe that he is misleading the public, people are unaware [of] the truth. The fact that he doesn't command that kind of support [as portrayed online].

“In 2013, he won with a majority of 68 per cent or 63 per cent, whatever it may be. In 2018, he only won with a percentage of 43 or 48 per cent,” Ramanan said, adding that the exact percentages might be wrong.

“Either way, what happened to the so-called popularity? [The support] was never there in the first place. It was never there in the first place. You know, it's just perception. A master of disguise,” Ramanan claimed.

A check by Malay Mail showed that in 2013, Khairy beat PKR's candidate by an 18,357 majority. In 2018, he only won by a 4,364 majority.

With three days left to polling day, candidates are stepping up their campaign to persuade their voters to give them a vote.

Voters will cast their ballots on November 19.