GUA MUSANG: The campaign for the Nenggiri by-election has now entered the second phase, with six days remaining for candidates to win over approximately 20,000 voters in the constituency.
During the first phase of the campaign, it is undeniable that the main challenge for both candidates, Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Mohd Rizwadi Ismail from PAS, was to meet all voters in the constituency, which is nearly twice the size of Melaka.
The large territory, the long distances required to reach some residential areas—up to six hours in some cases—and the fact that some locations are only accessible by water transport have limited the candidates’ movement.
The poster war has also been largely confined to densely populated areas and has not been very lively throughout the entire constituency.
However, Mohd Azmawi Fikri, 38, better known as ‘Awie’, said he had completed the first round of visits to all 20 district polling centres on the fifth day of the campaign and would continue engaging voters until the campaign period ends at 11.59pm on Aug 16.
Regarding the campaign approach, BN machinery, with the support of Pakatan Harapan, opted to engage voters through small-scale events without mega ‘ceramah’ (political talks), while the candidate’s schedule began as early as pre-dawn time every day.
Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said BN focused on reaching out to voters through small-scale talks.
"Some party leaders and I have participated in group ceramah, and we don’t want to make it difficult for people to attend grand events. The reason is that many of the people who came were outsiders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional machinery has opted for larger venues with performances for their talks.
Mohd Rizwadi, 41, admitted that his daily schedule was hectic, but his experience as former Navy personnel helped him maintain his stamina throughout the campaign.
In addition to a face-to-face campaign, both candidates use social media platforms to share their daily activities and address rising issues to woo voters, especially young people and those living outside Gua Musang.
However, the first half of the campaign, which initially proceeded without major issues, was marred by a statement that allegedly labelled DAP as ‘kafir harbi’ during a ceramah, leading to a police report filed by the state DAP Youth wing.
Gua Musang district police chief Supt Sik Choon Foo reportedly said that as of Saturday (Aug 10), the police had received four reports since the campaign began last Saturday.
The Nenggiri by-election, scheduled for Aug 17, was called after Kelantan State Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah declared the seat vacant on June 19 because its assemblyman, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, had ceased to be a Bersatu member on June 13.
In last year’s state election, Mohd Azizi won the seat on a PAS ticket, beating BN’s Ab Aziz Yusoff by a majority of 810 votes.
The Nenggiri constituency has 20,259 registered voters. – Bernama
