20 - Ketari, Pahang: Protest and Loyalty, Confidence and Desperation

Summary

NOVICE IN A HOT SEAT

As a political newbie, it was no easy feat to stand for elections in the 14th General Elections (GE-14) as a Democratic Action Party (DAP) candidate in Ketari, Pahang, a state assembly seat expected to be hotly contested. I was initially surprised when the party leadership asked me to contest there. I knew that as a DAP candidate and an outsider to the neighbourhood, I would have to surmount multiple hurdles. The profile of Ketari's electorate—48 per cent Malay, 44 per cent Chinese, 5 per cent Indian and 3 per cent Orang Asli—made it potentially very competitive in the event of a multicornered fight. Nonetheless, I saw this opportunity as a sign of my party's confidence in my abilities to deliver a state seat within the Bentong parliamentary constituency, and accepted the challenge wholeheartedly.

In GE-13, DAP together with Pakatan Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) successfully captured the Ketari constituency. This victory was partly due to the vote from the Parti Agama Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS) camp which was then part of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, who voted against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government. This time around, however, the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) was without PAS as a partner and would be campaigning under the PKR banner. Despite initially mixed reactions from coalition members, including DAP itself, PH leaders managed to convince the coalition that this was the best way to display interparty unity and strength. Further, DAP candidates would have a fair chance at victory in an ethnically mixed but substantially Malay constituency like Ketari if they stood under the PKR banner.

In any case, PH's participation in Ketari in GE-14 would be a crucial trial by fire. The three-cornered fight with PAS and BN would mean that PH had to face a potential loss of support from the PAS members and Malay supporters that they enjoyed in GE-13.

ENTRENCHED LOYALTY, ACTIVATED PROTEST

I first met the Ketari PH supporters towards the end of 2017, right after the leadership informed me that they wanted to field me as candidate there. Some thought that my chances for victory were considerably low, given that I was not local to the area. Others were surprised that I was the first Malay candidate fielded by the DAP in that constituency.