State polls: Fiery battle awaits in Permatang

THE Permatang state seat, which comes under the Tanjong Karang parliamentary constituency, is one of the hottest seats in Selangor in the upcoming elections.

It is expected to be a fierce battleground between Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional.

The face-off is between PKR veteran Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri and lawyer Nurul Syazwani Noh, who is the daughter of local political warlord and six-term Tanjong Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar.

Perikatan candidate Nurul Syazwani, who joined Bersatu after her father was sacked from Umno, has been travelling throughout the constituency since nomination day to convince the electorate that she is the right person.

Both candidates have strong ground representation in the constituency.

Mohd Yahya (left with spectacles) chatting with voters at Sungai Gulang-Gulang in Tanjung Karang.

While Nurul Syazwani has been going to the constituency with her father since she was seven years old, Mohd Yahya’s wife Rozana Zainal Abidin is the incumbent Permatang assemblyman.

The Permatang electorate comprises mainly farmers, fishermen (Malay and Chinese) and small-scale entrepreneurs.

Although Permatang is a Malay-majority seat, it also has four district polling centres with almost a majority of Indian voters who are mostly workers from the nearby plantations.

Permatang resident Abdul Hamid Karim, 45, said he would vote for the candidate who impressed him the most.

“I am keeping an open mind,’’ said the farmer who lives in Kampung Sawah Sempadan.

He wants the state government to ensure that the money spent on social welfare programmes will reach the needy.

“I think they should look at the free bus service programme. Not many Malaysians are using the service,’’ said Abdul Hamid.

He added the state should consider doing away with the free bus service and use the money for some other programme.

Fisherman Lim Chee Wai, 55, said he did not really care who wins but the assemblyman must address the needs of the local fishing community.

“Currently, we need help to upgrade our boats,’’ said Lim from Kampung Bagan Pasir.

The Permatang constituency was created in 1974 for the nation’s fourth general election, with Mohamed Said Bahir as its first assemblyman.

Other notable Permatang assemblymen were the late Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail, who won the seat in 1978 in the fifth general election, as well as the late Tan Sri Abu Hassan Omar who won the seat in the ninth and 10th general elections and held the seat from 1997 to 2004.

Zaleha was the former unity and social development minister while Abu Hassan held a ministerial portfolio before becoming Selangor’s 12th mentri besar in 1997.

After Abu Hassan, the seat was held by his former political secretary – the late Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohd Noh who won it in the 2004 polls.