Fierce fights in Kedah as PH battles to break BN strangleholds

KEDAH will see a number of fierce fights in this general election, notably the battle for the Langkawi parliamentary seat, which pits former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad against incumbent Datuk Nawawi Ahmad and Langkawi PAS chief Zubir Ahmad.
Mahathir, the 93-year-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman who emerged from retirement to lead the opposition coalition's charge in this general election, is no stranger to the constituency, having brought much development to the island, turning it into an international tourist attraction during his tenure as the prime minister.
All eyes are now on the seat as what is at stake is not only Mahathir's reputation but also the future of PH, Oriental Daily News report today.
Should he win the seat and PH defeat Barisan Nasional (BN), Mahathir will be the next prime minister.
However, Nawawi, who was reported to be picked to defend his seat at the 11th hour, is no push-over and Umno has never been defeated in the constituency.
In the 13th general election (GE13), Nawawi beat his opponent from PKR by a thumping majority of 11,861 votes.
Can the Mahathir magic break the Umno stranglehold on the seat? The answer is something Malaysians are dying to find out.
Also in the spotlight is Mahathir's son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, who is taking on incumbent Datuk Othman Aziz in the Jerlun parliamentary seat.
Mukhriz was Kedah's mentri besar from 2013 to 2016 and Othman is the caretaker deputy finance minister.
Jerlun has 54,132 voters, with Malays and Chinese making up 91% and 8% of the electorate respectively.
Based on the majority votes obtained by Umno in the last three general elections – about 19,000 votes in 2004 and 2008, and 24,161 in 2013 – it is clear that the constituency was not affected by any wind of change so far.
Given such a strong support base Umno has in the constituency, it will be an uphill task for the former mentri besar, who contested and won the seat under BN in 2008 but is now representing the Opposition.
Mukhriz is also contesting the state seat of Jitra.