BATTLE FOR SHAH ALAM IS GETTING HOTTER...KHALID SAMAD A.K.A KHALID GEREJA MAINKAN "AGENDA PERKAUMAN" YANG DI UNGKAPKAN OLEH CALON BARISAN NASIONAL ZULKIFLY NOORDIN KETIKA DALAM DOKTRIN PAS 10 TAHUN LALU. SESUNGGUHNYA ZULKIFLY NOORDIN PUN SUDAH MEMOHON MAAF DI ATS KESILAPAN BELIAU ITU...SEMASA PENAMAAN CALON KHALID GEREJA BUAT HAL PULA KERANA PARA PENYOKONG BARISAN NASIONAL MENGEJEK BELIAU SEMASA PENGUMUMAN NAMA-NAMA CALON...INI PERKARA BIASA DAN MANA-MANA PERTANDING TERUTAMA SEKIRANYA PERTANDINGAN ITU MELIBATKAN SETERU YANG KUAT...MACAM MANCHESTER UNITED VS LIVERPOOL...

CALON-CALON PARLIMEN SHAH ALAM

Residents say former opposition reps were seldom around to look into their needs...

SHAH Alam - once considered an almost invincible Barisan Nasional constituency -- is undoubtedly the hottest contested parliamentary seat in Selangor and one that the BN is set on recapturing. This capital city of Selangor, once a vast area of rubber and oil palm estates, is now a hub of the state's industrial and socio-economic activities with a fairly good mix of middle and low-income group and the nouveau riche.

So when election candidates meet the people in Shah Alam, they should be prepared with their plan of action. The opposition is fielding their incumbents in this parliamentary constituency as well as in the two state seats of Batu Tiga and Kota Anggerik.

Khalid Samad, 56, of Pas will recontest Shah Alam in a straight fight with BN's Datuk Zulkifli Noordin while PKR's Rodziah Ismail, 49, will face Umno's Mohd Yusof Din, 41, in Batu Tiga. PKR's Yaakob Sapari is in a three-cornered contest with Umno's Datuk Ahmad Nawawi Md Zin and independent Eriq Faisal Rusli, 33 in Kota Anggerik. Both Yaakob and Ahmad Nawawi are 51 years old.

For the incumbents, they have to show the constituents their "report card" - what they had done for the community and whether the needs of the people had been met during their term of office. If the candidates are short on memory, they can be sure that the constituents are not. Take 40-year-old contractor Ad Alias, for instance. He is married with four children and is an active grassroots man who just wants "a better life" for himself and his family.

"We are simple and hardworking people. All we need is your help, something not beyond your power to do," he said near the Dewan Besar Tanjung in the older part of Shah Alam where the nomination papers of election candidates were being filed. He said when the opposition took over, so many people lost their businesses and others found it hard to continue because of the administration's red tape.

There are 45,000 contractors of all classes in Selangor with 13,000 Class F contractors in Shah Alam alone.

Ad Alias also remembers that Khalid was "seldom around" and Rodziah was "totally absent" in the constituency. "They did not have their aides around to represent them. Even if Rodziah was around, she was not at all helpful, attributing her inability to help to lack of funds." For the BN candidates, the rakyat want them to explain how their pledges in the manifesto can give a better and brighter future.

Shah Alam has more than 100,000 voters with nearly 70 per cent Malays, 15 per cent Chinese and 14 per cent Indians. Thirty-five-year-old Arul -- too shy to give his full name -- was among the BN supporters at the nomination centre. He was with three friends, two of whom are elderly. "Zulkifli has hurt our feelings. We are angry. Yes, he has apologised, but we are still hurt," he said. His friends nodded in agreement. So, will he and his friends give Zulkifli their support?

"He is our candidate. Still, we will see in the next two weeks. We want to see his sincerity," said the petty trader. But Zulkifli seems to be readily accepted by Adry Helmi, 26, and his four friends who are Shah Alam-born and bred. They said they have had five years to assess the performance of their elected representatives. Wearing blue shirts and dark shades with trendy hairstyles, these boys, who could have passed off as a local boy band, are all for the BN. "Zulkifli is our man. We want a change in (state) government," he said.

In the larger scheme of things, you will find that different issues affect different groups of people in Shah Alam. While Shah Alam holds the highest concentration of urban Malays in the country, they differ in what they expect of the government. They have some of the best infrastructure and transport systems in the country, they are home to diverse industries and education institutions.

It was the 1995 general election that lent Shah Alam its "invincible" image when (now Datuk) Salamon Selamat of Umno defeated his opponent by a whopping 40,715 votes -- recorded to be the biggest winning majority. In the 2008 general election, Shah Alam was one of the 16 parliamentary seats BN lost to the opposition. Umno incumbent Tan Sri Aziz Shamsuddin lost to Khalid by a 9,314-vote majority. In the 2004 general election he defeated Khalid by 13,410 votes.

Following the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from Umno in 1998 and events arising from it, the BN's performance was affected in the 1999 general election. Shah Alam was no exception. Although (now Datuk) Mohd Zin Mohamad of Umno defeated Parti Keadilan's Mohamed Ezam Mohd Noor, he won by a sharply reduced majority of 1,440 votes. Compare that with Datuk Salamon's sterling performance in the previous election.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is leading the battle for Selangor and he, according to Rosman Sham, has been "the balm to soothe our souls". "We see his gestures as genuine. He walks the talk and he has kept all those promises. He is so committed," said the 45-year-old businessman. For sure, the election mood is palpable. The candidates are in full gear and so are the constituents. Shah Alam in the old days was called Simpang Renggam.

For candidates - of the BN and opposition alike - there's nothing like reaching out to the rakyat to win their hearts. "It's not difficult - just say hello when you see us. Ambat hati kita (win our hearts)," said Ad Alias. That, as most candidates know, is easier said than done.