REMBAU: Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan may not win in Rembau parliamentary seat because Malay voters have lost their faith in Barisan Nasional because of several factors.

These include the removal of incumbent Member of Parliament Khairy Jamaluddin from the constituency, the jailing of former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, and the court cases involving the current president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

There are a total of 133,555 eligible voters in Rembau, 75.3% of whom are Malays. As such, any change in the voting trend of Malay voters could affect the final outcome of the election.

Sin Chew Daily talked to several voters in Rembau to find out what they thought of this weekend’s 15th general election.

Surprisingly, we have discovered very polarized views among the Malay voters in this traditional Umno stronghold.

Some of the older Malay voters told us Umno was not only corrupt but also did not take care of the voters and they would not vote for the party again this time.

They said most of the Malay voters had awakened now and would not blindly support Umno any more.

They said they were still skeptical about the allegations of corruption against Umno back in 2018, unsure whether the former prime minister whom they had supported all these years was actually involved.

However, with Najib now sent to prison, the accusations of Pakatan Harapan have been proven.

They believed Rembau voters would reject BN more decisively this time compared to four years ago.

Moreover, Rembau voters prefer the incumbent MP Khairy Jamaluddin more than the former menteri besar.

They said even though Khairy is arrogant, he is an “Anak Rembau” who would do his best to help if the voters have any problem.

Compared to Mohamad Hasan, they said they were more inclined to support Khairy.

Nevertheless, a young voter told us although Tok Mat is not from Rembau, his hometown is just next door in Rantau, and believed he would have the support of many residents here.

Zaini, a 57-year-old voter, told Sin Chew Daily the voters here preferred Khairy, but as he had obviously offended Ahmad Zahid, he was subsequently “banished” to a not-so-safe constituency.

He also felt that Tok Mat’s winning chance was not as large as many had anticipated, because people’s confidence in BN had been weakened by Najib’s jailing, his wife Rosmah Mansor’s conviction as well as court cases of Ahmad Zahid.

“There’s no problem with him personally, but his party comrades and the party he represents have made people really hesitant this time.

“Tok Mat may not win that easily, as Pakatan has been state government for four years now and has some track record.

“First-time voters are not six-year-olds. They have their own thinking and views. As for the elderlies, they may not come out and vote because of Covid!

“This time, Parti Keadilan has fielded Jufitri Joha, a young leader who is no stranger to many young Malay people here.

“Jufitri may not be a good speaker, but as a young leader, I believe young voters here are more inclined to support him.”

As for the 15.4% of Indian voters, Zaini said they might be more inclined to vote for Malaysian Socialist Party’s (PSM) candidate Cikgu Tina, the only Indian candidate who is no stranger to the voters here.

Zaini admitted that he had no idea about the Chinese voters, but compared to BN, he believed they would go for PH.

“Based on such scenario, I seriously don’t think BN will win here.”