Chapter 8 - Pandan, Selangor: New Electoral Dynamics in Urban Malaysia

Summary

Introduction

Pandan is a parliamentary constituency in the state of Selangor which comprises two state seats, Chempaka and Teratai, Malay-majority and Chinese-majority areas respectively; therefore Pandan is considered a mixed seat. During the 13^th general election (GE13), all three seats were contested by the two main coalitions in Malaysia, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan).

Pandan saw Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) pitted against Gary Lim Chin Yee from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), with Allan Tan Yew Leng contesting as an independent candidate. There was a straight fight in Chempaka between Iskandar bin Abdul Samad from Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and Muhammad Faizal bin Sufar from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Teratai was contested by Tiew Way Keng from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Ben Liew Pok Boon from Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and three independents – Jenice Lee Ying Ha, Chin Kok Keong and Lim Ah Chai. PKR, PAS and DAP make up Pakatan, while MCA, UMNO and Gerakan are from BN.

The electoral campaigns in Pandan suggest a new dynamic emerging, in which candidates and voters alike favour policy-based campaigns as opposed to campaigns run on racial or patronage platforms. The next section describes how party structure, candidate selection and campaign machinery influenced the mobilisation of voters, as well as how campaigns were financed. The following section then explores trends which indicate the democratisation of electoral dynamics in Pandan. A closer examination, however, reveals that campaign funding remains highly confidential for both Pakatan and BN.

Progress of the campaign

The Pandan parliamentary constituency straddles the boundary of Kuala Lumpur (a federal territory) and the state of Selangor. Despite its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur city centre, Pandan has a large population of urban poor, although the majority of its residents are from the middle-income working class (Chooi 2013c). Development here mainly consists of sprawling residential terrace housing, apartments and fairly large areas of commercial shoplots. Chempaka has relatively more low-cost flats than Teratai, as well as pockets of semi-rural Malay villages or squatters. Overall, Pandan is considered an urban and semi-urban seat.