Flag and poster war on small scale in rural Kedah

ALOR STAR: It is a quite peculiar sight in the rural areas of Kedah as political parties flags are hardly seen although campaigning period has started two days ago.
Unlike in previous general elections, the mood here seems subdued despite having potential fierce battles in the multi-cornered fights among the parties.
Even in the hot seats like Jerlun, the flag and poster war among the parties was not felt in the stronghold of Umno.
The political parties do not seem bothered by the absence of their party flags. theSun talked to Umno member Azehar Ahmad who shrugged off the sparsity of BN flags in his area.
"I don't think it's a big problem. The flags are there but only at strategic places. But from the aspect of campaigning, the commitment from party members is higher than last time," he said.
Azehar applauded the party for not spending too much money on unnecessary items and said others should emulate Umno.
Another Umno member, Abu Khosim Awang, echoed the same sentiment and said the approach this time was wiser and economical.
"BN has enough flags to be used in GE14, but we didn't use them all. This might be because we won't be swayed by the Opposition who is also quite slow in putting up its flags," said the 50-year-old Abu.
He said the number of flags was no indication of the strength of the party and not a measure of success at the ballot.
A PAS member, who only wanted to be known as Malik, said a lack of funds in the party was the main reason why its flags were as many as in previous elections.
He said the PAS machinery in Jerlun had to used old flags from previous elections and some of the members forked out their own money to buy party flags for GE14.
"We have to improvise and work on our own to keep the flags of our party flying high", he said.
PKR flags were also a rare sight in most of the places in the rice bowl state.
Jerlun will see three-cornered fights for it parliamentary and state seats in the GE14. Incumbent Datuk Othman Aziz of Umno will face Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir of PPBM and Ghani Ahmad of PAS for the parliamentary seat.