‘Young, smart and articulate’: Can BN’s Khairy charm opposition voters in Malaysia election?

SUNGAI BULOH – If charm and charisma form the yardstick by which one wins an election, then the Nov 19 general polls would be a walkover for incumbent Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

At every stop of his campaign trail, people made a beeline for Mr Khairy, 46, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the parliamentary ward of Sungai Buloh in Selangor. They reached out to shake his hand or jostled to take selfies with him, while he sportingly obliged.

“He is young, smart and articulate. He steered the country towards Covid-19 endemicity very well. He has my vote,” said plant nursery owner Tennie Chea, 45.

With about 37 per cent of the total 158,090 voters in the ward aged between 18 and 29 years old, it is no surprise that Mr Khairy runs a slick campaign on social media too, with the hashtags #KataJanjiSungaiBuloh (Promise for Sungai Buloh), #KitaJagaSungaiBuloh (We take care of Sungai Buloh) and #KJ4SB.

On Thursday, he halted his campaigning activities to head to the flood-hit area of Kampung Melayu Subang. Pictures and videos on his social media accounts showed him in yellow rubber boots wading through knee-high waters to talk to the affected residents on how to resolve the problem.

“This is the kind of leader we need in Parliament, someone who takes action quickly,” Mr Ahmad Nizar Yop wrote on Mr Khairy’s Facebook.

Mr Khairy is a newcomer to the opposition stronghold of Sungai Buloh after being made to give up his safe seat of Rembau – which he has helmed for three terms – to Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.

Party insiders say he was assigned the tough seat because of his rivalry with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.