GE15: Tambun BN’s Aminuddin not joining Anwar-Peja billboard wars, says ‘let them fight’

IPOH: Barisan-Umno candidate for the Tambun parliamentary seat Datuk Aminuddin Md Hanafiah in the 15th General Election (GE15) is unbothered by the competition he faces for the seat.

“Yes, I’m in between two giants. Let them fight,” he said during a walkabout at a morning market in Chemor.

Aminuddin is facing off against Perikatan Nasional’s incumbent Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The fourth candidate Abdul Rahim Tahir is from Pejuang.

The race for Tambun, dubbed as one of the hot seats in this election, has seen a “billboard war” going on between Anwar and Ahmad Faizal, also known as Peja.

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On Nov 8, Ahmad Faizal said his friends were behind billboards depicting slogans like “Never lost in Tambun” and another pointing towards an exit to the north from Tambun, seen as a reference to Anwar.

Anwar’s camp has put up billboards saying “From Tambun to Malaysia” along the highway in Ipoh.

“They have a lot of money. I don’t, I’m the underdog,” he said.

Aminuddin joked that he had huge billboards too back when he contested in 2018.

“I had a huge billboard tapi I kalah (but I lost),” he said with a laugh.

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Instead, he said it’s important for him to focus on what he can offer to the people.

“Big names are one thing, but what you offer is another. Anwar is an outsider, he came here just to fish votes. Faizal being Faizal lah. You have given him a chance. But this is my kampung and I am offering myself as a local boy,” he said.

Aminuddin said he is experiencing a better reception from the locals during his campaigning period this time compared to 2018.

“I can feel the atmosphere is different from 2018. That year was the peak of hatred against Barisan. But after people compared what they got when Pakatan was in power, they told me they want Barisan back. For them, Pakatan did not walk the talk,” he said.

Aminuddin aims to help people in Tambun keep up with the rapid pace of development such as managing traffic issues. At the Chemor morning market along Jalan Silang 4, locals said they hope Aminuddin can help them get the licences needed to continue operating their business in the area.

“We’ve been facing this issue with local authorities for years. What we want is a candidate who solves issues within the campaigning period instead of making us wait until after the election,” said a seller, who only wanted to be known as Siva.

Aminuddin said he is aware of the issue faced by the small traders and will look into the matter. He also thanked them for their support and encouraged them to vote.

“I’m scared that they will not go out to vote. If only 50% of voters come out to vote, that is not good for democracy because the silent majority will not be represented fairly. People need to come out and vote,” he said.