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 11.59 pm on Aug 16.
In terms of 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.
When met by reporters recently, UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said BN chose to focus on reaching out to voters through ceramah for small groups instead of grand-scale ceramah.
“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 for their ceramah, and some evening events even started with dikir barat performances to draw more guests.
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 are using social media platforms such as TikTok to share their daily activities and address rising issues in an effort to woo voters, especially young people and those living outside of 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 yesterday, 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.
