MAI BACA APA KATA DEPA.

Hulu Selangor split on Zaid’s ‘vices’

By Clara Chooi
KUALA KUBU BARU, April 22 — Cendol and rojak trader, Satar Daud, does not care if PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim guzzles alcohol, gambles or fools around with women.
To him, Zaid would have his vote come April 25, regardless of the number of vices he had engaged in previously.
Standing at his makeshift stall in a rundown Malay restaurant here, Satar explained to The Malaysian Insider why he was willing to staunchly support Zaid.
To Satar, Zaid represents a beacon of hope. An alternative to the government he believes has no respect or compassion for the weak and the poor like him.
The 54-year-old man had lost one toe and most of his teeth due to a long-drawn battle with diabetes and now faces the prospect of losing his left leg from the knee down due to the sickness.
“What has BN done for me? Nothing. I never asked them for a single ringgit but when I sought for welfare aid, I was rejected,” he lamented.
As he spoke, Satar shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other for he finds it difficult to lean too long on his bandaged left foot.
“I went to the (welfare) department office three months ago asking for aid. You know what they told me?

Satar said he needed to lose another toe before he qualified for welfare. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

“They said ‘You only had one toe amputated. You are not in suffering. You need to at least have two toes amputated’,” he claimed. The shocking story was further worsened when Satar said that the department had told him that even after losing two toes, he would only be eligible to be given welfare aid of RM150 monthly.
“They said RM150. What can I do with RM150? I told them ‘forget it. Keep your money. I am better off supporting myself’,” he said.
He noted that earnings from his cendol and rojak business, although scant, were enough to help him support himself.
“No point taking money from them. I am not here for charity. At least I am working and helping myself,” he said.
Satar claimed he used to own a restaurant of his own but had to shut it down because of his disease.
“Now, this is my life here. I earn little, but it is better than taking such pittance from the government,” he said.
Satar pointed out that this was the very reason why he would cast his vote for Zaid come polling day this Sunday.
“I have supported the Barisan Nasional my whole life. Whole life. But now, I just want someone else. Anyone else but them.
“So why should I care whether Zaid drank a lot, or gambled, or fooled around with women? What matters is not what he did in his past but what he can do for us in the future,” he said.
He added that if Zaid could not help him either, he would vote for neither party come the next election.

Ila said smear tactics were to be expected in elections.

“Best to sit at home and mind my own business,” he said. Satar’s sentiment is shared by several others, showing signs of the maturity of the voters in Hulu Selangor.
“Oh, we will not be swayed simply by baseless allegations of who drinks and who does not. I am not saying that I support Zaid or the BN but what I am saying is — it is election time, we expect these stories to come out,” said 23-year-old shopkeeper, Ila raja Ibrahim.
She said that it was not right for people to pass judgement on others, especially on mistakes allegedly made in a person’s past.
“It would not be right for me to judge him because of this or say I do not support him because he used to drink,” she said.
Ila believes that the Malay voters of the large semi-urban constituency would be matured enough to understand this.
“However, maybe for some of the fundamentalists, their thoughts may differ from mine. I cannot say for certain,” she said.
Saidatul Salwa, 20, however believes that the drinking allegations would definitely not sit well with the Malays in the constituency.
“It is forbidden to drink in Islam so definitely we would not sanction such acts,” she said.

Zaid’s admission to drinking could not be ignored, said Saidatul.

She said that the morality of Zaid’s character was definitely at stake with the allegations. “It cannot be ignored. The people will feel like voting [for] him is tantamount to saying that it is ok for Muslims to drink and gamble.
“Hence, if what they say is true, then this is how we will punish Zaid — by not voting for him,” she said.
Driver Meor Izham Azhari agrees with the sentiment but later admitted that Zaid’s drinking past was just an excuse for him not to vote for the PKR leader.
“I do not have confidence in him because I do not trust that he has the maturity yet as a PKR leader. He only joined PKR for a short while,” he said.
He said that whether or not Zaid drank or gambled would not affect his support for the BN.
“But the fact that he drinks further gives me reason not to support him,” said Meor.
Meor’s view was shared by several other villagers met at Ulu Yam Lama near here.
After claiming that they did not support Zaid, they moved quickly to say that it was due to the allegations of the latter’s drinking past.
Hardcore PR supporters met at the bus stop here, however, believe otherwise, and like Satar, were ready to dismiss the allegations off-hand.
When approached, the supporters angrily refused to comment on the issue or have their photographs taken.

For Meor, Zaid’s past habits were just the excuse he needed to not support the PKR man.

“What is the point of giving you our comments when you will only twist it around. Go away. We will not speak with you,” one man said. The group of men were later heard discussing the issue of Zaid’s penchant for racehorse gambling and his alleged drinking past.
“Cheh, please lah. Even the Sultan owns plenty of horses. No one says anything about that. And you think the other leaders do not drink?
“These people are just trying to play up issues so that PKR loses,” said one man to another.
From the interviews, it is clear that while the PR and BN continue to trade barbs over who among them drinks or gambles, little difference is made to the Malay voters of Hulu Selangor.
To the BN supporters, Zaid’s drinking past gives them more reason not to vote for him on April 25.
To the PR supporters, the allegation makes no difference to them.
And to the fence sitters, the entire charade is just another by-election soap opera.