TENOM: Voters in this Sabah's Murut heartland here are polite to candidates - they entertain all five contestants but give away little when it comes to their political inclination.
"We know all the candidates here - some of them are even friends.
"We go to all candidates' events and ceramah just to see what they are doing and what they have to offer," said Lendi Sumping, 34.
"How we vote is secret. Sometimes we go to the blue party's (Barisan Nasional) rallies and sometimes to white's (Independent).
"But at the end of the day, we might even go for red (Pakatan Harapan)," said Lau Lee, 61.
A similar sentiment was shared among the electorate of this farming community in the valleys along the Crocker Range.
The contenders for the Tenom parliamentary constituency are Noorita Sual (Pakatan), Jamawi Jaafar (Barisan), Ukim Buandi (Warisan) and two independents Riduan Rubin (Elephant) and Peggy Chaw Zhi Ting (Tractor).
A 62-year old hawker in the old Melalap "town", which refers to a single wooden structure comprising three double-storey shoplots, said the candidates had been visiting the area.
"I don't know. All seem capable. Some people tell me 'merah' (incumbent Tenom MP Noorita) seems to have done a lot.
"But 'Gajah' is also strong because of Datuk Peter Anthony," Morthy Gaing said, referring to Riduan's move to join Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Malaysia (KDM) five days after nominations.
A hawker at the Tenom market, who declined to be named, said he had been following several of the candidates' campaigns, adding there were goodies to look out for including food, drinks and more.
"Ikut saja (I just follow)," said the hawker.
Voter sentiment is strong for Pakatan's Noorita, but the tide could turn in favour of Barisan's Jamawi and independent Riduan.
However, Chaw, another independent candidate and the youngest in the country vying for a parliamentary seat, could struggle to retain her deposit.
Tenom has 42,045 voters comprising about 70% non-Muslim bumiputra from the Murut and Kadazandusun ethnicities with the remaining mainly from the Chinese community.
