‘Dull’ atmosphere in Tanjong Karang without Noh Omar, say voters

KUALA SELANGOR: As a trader in Tanjong Karang, Azhar Arifin is used to seeing the constituency come alive every time there is an election, but that is not happening this time around.

“The atmosphere here is dull. It is as if the spirit is fading among the Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery because Noh Omar is not contesting,” the 60-year-old told FMT.

Azhar says there aren’t as many BN banners and flags in what is considered one of the coalition’s last bastions in Selangor.

In the 2018 general election (GE14), BN won only two of the 22 parliamentary seats in the state, namely Sabak Bernam and Tanjong Karang. However, Fasiah Fakeh who won the Sabak Bernam seat on a BN ticket later left Umno to join Bersatu.

Noh, the former Tanjong Karang MP and Selangor BN chief, was dropped from the GE15 lineup.

Azhar is not happy with BN’s decision to drop the six-term MP, so much so that he has decided to boycott the polls.

“I don’t care if BN loses this time. I am not happy with (BN chairman) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s decision to drop Noh.

“Noh had worked hard to rebuild Umno in Selangor after the pandemic and his performance as a minister was stellar, but you (Zahid) suddenly axed him,” he said.

Another local, Umi Nadzrah Abd Latif, 33, also predicted that BN would lose, based on the current sentiment on the ground.

“Noh’s been working hard and visiting the people here regularly, so I was shocked when he was dropped.

“His replacement, Habibah Yusof, is known in Wanita Umno, but not among those outside the party and this is bad news,” she said, adding that it would be an uphill battle for Habibah as other contenders for the seat are formidable.

Habibah, who is Tanjong Karang Wanita Umno chief, is involved in a five-cornered contest with Siti Rahayu Baharin of Muda (who is representing Pakatan Harapan), Azlan Sani Zawawi (Pejuang), Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Perikatan Nasional), and an independent Rosni Mastol.

However, not everyone is sad that Noh has been dropped. Anis Matori, 54, said it’s better to give a new candidate a chance.

“Who knows, she (Habibah) could do better,” Anis said.

“We know Noh has contributed a lot to Tanjong Karang. But at the same time, as the state BN chief, he failed to reclaim Selangor from Pakatan Harapan (PH).”

Another local, who only wanted to be known as Daniel, said that while Habibah should be given the chance to prove herself, she will face a tough battle to win the seat.

“Firstly because it’s a five-cornered fight. Also, Umno here is now divided into factions after Noh was dropped from the list,” the 59-year-old said. — Free Malaysia Today