By NELSON BENJAMIN
nelson@thestar.com.my
On the trail: M. Asogan (middle) meeting the locals in the Gambir constituency.
MUAR:
Gambir incumbent M. Asojan from Barisan Nasional is appealing to voters
not to vote based on the candidate or individual but the party that he
represents in GE13.
“I feel like the underdog as all the three
candidates challenging me are Malays. This is also a Malay majority seat
with 12,037 voters comprising 56% of the total number of 21,832 voters
in the constituency,” he added.
Asojan is facing Johor PAS
commissioner Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohammad and two independents including
Yunus Mustakim and Mohd Zan Abu, both former Umno leaders in the area.
“I
know both these guys and one of them was even my assistant before they
turned on me after claiming that MIC should return the Gambir seat to
Umno,” he added.
Asojan, who was a second term assemblyman, said
this was a real challenge for him especially with both the independent
candidates knowing all about the Barisan strategy to win back the seat.
“I
was down in the beginning but thanks to the encouragement and
motivation from my wife and Johor Barisan Nasional chief Datuk Abdul
Ghani Othman, I picked myself up and have started campaigning
aggressively.
Asojan said unlike his opponents who campaigned
along racial lines, he was more interested in talking about the good
done by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak through his economic
transformation projects for the country.
“I tell my voters that I
have been selected by Barisan to represent them. As such I will
continue to do my best for everyone in the constituency,” he said,
adding that he was confident with the support from all races.
Asojan
hoped that the voters would elect him in GE13 as it would be a true win
and uniting of the people under the “1Malaysia concept” due to the
racial population in the area comprising 56% Malays, 39.7% Chinese and
3.8% Indians.
“I stress this because I will need the support from
all the communities to serve the people here,” he said, adding that he
was also having about 80 ceramah’s since nomination day to small groups
of people in his constituency.
Asojan, who is state MIC
secretary, was upbeat about implementing the 20-point Johor Barisan
manifesto in his area as it would help improve the living standards of
the people in the state.
“I think the move to get
government-linked companies to build homes under a special scheme will
attract people to continue working in the estates,” he said.
Gambir is the only constituency in the state with a four-cornered fight.
SOURCE: THE STAR, MAY 04, 2013
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