In enemy territory, Zulkefly traces his childhood

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

PORT DICKSON, Oct 6 — When Omar Kased, 75, found out that Zulkefly Omar was the PAS candidate standing in his constituency, the retired teacher made plans to meet his grandnephew at one of the campaign stops.

He was reunited with the PAS Negeri Sembilan chief last night when Zulkefly shook the hand of the frail old man.

“I am glad he remembers the time when he stayed in my house, I have already forgotten that, but I think he came with one of my grandsons,” said Omar, who is married to Zulkefly’s grandaunt from Lenggeng, a small town bordering Selangor situated some 60km from here.

Omar (left) speaks alongside Zulkefly during yesterday’s Aidilfitri celebrations. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

Omar, who was born in Rembau, moved to Port Dickson a few months before Merdeka and now calls it home.

The reunion was important for Zulkefly as Umno campaigners are exploiting the fact that he is not a local boy and will not be able to serve the constituents well, unlike his opponent Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad who grew up in the area and had been their representative from 1978 till 2004.

After addressing the crowd at a rally in Taman Eastern here, Zulkefly then invited Omar to the stage to give a short a speech.

“I have a relative here,” Zulkefly told party loyalists at the rally.

It was not the first time Zulkefly had attempted to show his personal connection to the Umno stronghold.

Earlier at the party media briefing, he highlighted the fact that he has been actively fighting for the rights of the pig farmers near Port Dickson who were affected by the JE outbreak more than 10 years ago.

“I then worked alongside Yap Ah Peng, the former Jimah assemblyman,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

But with or without personal connections in the constituency, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has a bigger problem of preparing itself to take over the Negeri Sembilan government in the 13th general election.

Zulkefly greets supporters during the ceramah in Taman Eastern.

DAP, which controls 10 out of the 15 PR seats in the 36-member state legislative assembly, has already declared that the Bagan Pinang campaign will be the beginning of the coalition’s march to power in the state. Barisan Nasional (BN) is currently ruling Negeri Sembilan with a simple majority for the first time.

Implying a similar situation to Perak, where the PR government was led by PAS despite being a minority party, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had warned against the prospect of having such a government in the state.

“A coalition government that is always in disagreement with each other, will not have the time to run the state efficiently,” he said at a Hari Raya celebration yesterday when urging the crowd to continue backing the BN government.

“What is wrong with a PAS-led government supported by the DAP?” said Zulkefly when asked about the criticism against the coalition government.

But he was coy when asked of his new role if PR takes over the state government.

“We will sort that out within Pakatan, let us win here first,” said Zulkefly.