A world of difference as PH, PN campaigns wind up in Tambun

As campaigning winds down towards election day tomorrow, competing parties in the hot seat of Tambun in Perak appear to be taking different approaches to the end of the two-week period given to canvass for support from voters.  

A total of four candidates are competing for votes in Tambun, although the main fight is widely seen as being between the incumbent, Ahmad Faizal Azumu of Bersatu, and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

In the Pakatan Harapan (PH) camp, the flurry of activity looks set to continue until the very last minute, with election workers still going out around the clock. 

Near the main PH operations room, a team heading out with a four-wheel drive full of red flags and banners stopped to talk to MalaysiaNow. 

"The boss told us to put them up and make sure that they are everywhere," a youth sitting in the rear of the vehicle said. 

"We will have to see where there is still space. Maybe in the parks near the Malay neighbourhoods, because there are a lot of blue flags there."  

But despite the buzz of ongoing activity, some residents in the area said they were still waiting for a chance to see Anwar. 

"He hasn't come this way yet," Man, who lives in Kampung Tengku Hussein in Manjoi, said. 

PN camp

Over at the Kampung Manjoi cluster, meanwhile, a member of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) operations room said the coalition was now winding down its efforts after weeks of hard work. 

He said the last instructions he had received from Faizal were to take care of the coalition's image and reputation among the voters of the largest village complex in Malaysia.

"Don't do things that will annoy people, like asking the youth to go on a flag-carrying campaign," he said. 

"People don't like it when it's noisy. We are relaxed, calm. We'll leave everything to God." 

Political observers previously said that Anwar appeared to be scrambling for Malay support in the wake of surveys showing a trust deficit among members of the ethnic community. 

Anwar himself has dismissed claims of a drop in support for PH in the rural areas. 

Meanwhile, campaigns by the candidates from Barisan Nasional and Gerakan Tanah Air, Aminuddin Md Hanafiah and Abdul Rahim Tahir, appeared low-key to non-existent. 

Voters in the Tambun town area said they had seen neither hide nor hair of either candidate since the start of the campaign period. 

"It looks like they don't stand a chance," Ummi, a pisang goreng vendor, said to MalaysiaNow. 

"We know who the BN candidate really is, and the GTA candidate, we have no idea at all."