KOTA BARU: Indian voters in the Galas constituency have shut out Barisian Nasional describing Umno candidates as “bureacratic and protocol-conscious”.
Until the 2008 general election, Galas was an Umno-BN stronghold and the 200-strong Indians were diehard supporters of Umno-BN. Then came the late PAS rep Chek Hashim Sulaima.
In just under two years, the 58-year-old Check Hashim's hands-on approach in tackling ground issues earned him the trust of not just the Indians here but also the Chinese.
The Chinese make up 20.8% of voters in the Galas constituency and BN is hoping that they will throw their support for Umno.
Will the Chinese, like the Indians in Galas, openly declare their support for PAS? Not likely, said a banker here.
"It's not their style to talk... the Chinese are watching not only Galas but also national politics. They are not sentimental. They don't trust anyone now," he said.
"Umno is banking on Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's popularity here, but he is not an independent. In the last election, people rejected Umno, not the candidate. That sentiment is still prevalent."
For the Indians here, Chek Hashim was a refreshing change from earlier Umno representatives. According to them, there is a marked difference between Umno and PAS representatives.
The most obvious is PAS' willingness to work at gaining the trust of the Indians in the Galas constituency who were once a marginalised community.
The 200 Indian votes may seem insignificant, but in the 2008 general election, Chek Hasim wrested the seat from Umno's Saufi Deraman by a 646-vote majority.
The seat fell vacant on Sept 21 following the demise of Chek Hashim. The Election Commission has fixed Nov 4 for the by-election.
Galas today is quietly mourning the loss of Chek Hasim if local views are any guide.
No empty talk from former rep
Raman Palam, 58, a trader, said: "When we voted for the PAS assemblyman, we did not know what to expect. All the years under Umno reps, we got no help.
"They hardly ever came here. We heard Umno reps attended meetings here and promised to do things but they never did for us. I don't remember seeing them in Galas often," he said.
In contrast, Chek Hasim was always accessible to his constituents, irrespective of their socio-economic or political leanings.
There was, according to Raman, "no hierachy or protocol or bureaucracy to worry about".
"The PAS man was always accessible to us. He worked very hard to gain our trust and changed our persective towards PAS.
"We were once devout supporters of Umno-BN but when Chek Hashim took over, we have seen a lot of differences.
"He was always working and did not engage in empty talk. He has helped many of the people here, especially old people and single mothers.
"He has always kept his word to us unlike Umno assemblymen," Raman said, adding that with PAS, the Indian community here was treated with much respect.
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