Four-way fight could tip Semenyih for PSM, says Arutchelvan

SEMENYIH: The four-way battle for the state seat here could turn in favour of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), said its candidate S. Arutchelvan, 51.
Contesting the seat for the third consecutive time since 2008, Arutchelvan believes that the split of the Malay votes among Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PAS would give him a slight advantage come May 9.
"The area has been a BN stronghold since the seat was first drawn in 1959. PSM is under no illusion that the party will win the seat but we have a chance.
"The recent redelineation exercise saw additions of new voters from Seri Putera and Sungai Kantan which increases the number of Malay voters in Semenyih to about 68% to 69%.
"This could be an advantage or disadvantage come polling day," he said at his service centre, here, today.
Despite having done work and provided service to Semenyih constituents, Arutchelvan admitted that two-term incumbent BN's Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz had also done his part by reaching out to many Malay villages in the area frequently.
"Despite some difficulty to penetrate the Malay villages especially in Beranang, my campaigning so far has seen surprisingly good feedback from the Malay folks. At the same time, I am also trying to convince the Chinese and Indians in Semenyih to vote PSM instead of the Pakatan Harapan candidate.
"In my leaflets, I have made it clear that voting for me would mean, I will back Pakatan Harapan should it form the state government after elections are concluded," he said.
Commenting on his previous foray for the 2013 General Election, Arutchelvan said the positive part was that with 5,568 votes, he considers himself the third candidate with the highest number of votes in the country.
"Despite the 11th-hour entrance by PKR to contest the seat then and ruining PSM's chances, not many third party or independent candidates can say the same elsewhere on their vote count I believe. This only shows that our work in Semenyih has never been disregarded," he said.
His campaigning trail along the Chinese New Village at Broga, which borders Lenggeng, Negri Sembilan, has seen former DAP MP and former Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) director Kua Kia Soong aiding him in distributing party leaflets and manifestos.
In a four-cornered fight for Semenyih with incumbent Johan from BN, Pakatan Harapan's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) candidate Bakhtiar Mohd Nor and PAS' Mad Shahmidur Mat Kosim with these factors playing into the equation, Arutchelvan said he would need at least 10% of the Malay votes to stand a chance of wresting the seat from BN for the first time.
Semenyih has 53,257 voters with 69.4% of them Malays, 17.2% Chinese, 13.3% Indians and 0.01% (Other races).
The 2013 General Election saw Johan triumph with a 4,747-vote majority against PKR's Hamidi A. Hasan (13,1650 and Arutchelvan (5,568).
Arutchelvan had lost to Johan by merely 1,140 votes in the 2008 General Election.