Bandar Utama residents warmed up to Pakatan-BN alliance in no time, says DAP candidate Jamaliah

PETALING JAYA, Aug 8 — Bandar Utama residents are quite understanding of the alliance between former rivals Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition's candidate Jamaliah Jamaluddin said.

During an interview at her operations centre in Damansara Uptown, the soft-spoken DAP lawmaker defending the seat said she had taken more time to accept the cooperation between the two coalitions compared to her constituents.

"You can say that friends or enemies are not forever but one thing for sure is that you need to have standardised and consistent principles.

"And the principle we hold onto is how we can move the country towards becoming a better nation,” she told Malay Mail.

Jamaliah Jamaluddin said she had taken more time to accept the cooperation between the two coalitions compared to her constituents. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

She added that most of her constituents understand that due to the hung Parliament after the 15th general election, PH’s choices were joining hands with either BN or Perikatan Nasional (PN).

"At the end of the day, if it’s not PH and the unity government then it would have been PN,” she said.

With the timing of the GE15 coinciding with the rolling back of Covid-19 restrictions to move the country towards endemicity, she said locals also know that a stable government would help with recovery from the pandemic.

She said the combination of PH and BN has come at a critical time for nation-building, adding that the unity government has this moment to work on large issues such as the economy, education and job opportunities.

"I’m very glad most of my residents actually understand the situation and what we are going through,” she added.

Jamaliah (centre) said she was unfazed by the competition she will be facing in defending her Bandar Utama seat. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

Beyond that, she was unfazed by the competition she will be facing in defending her seat and declined to comment on her competitor from the fledgling Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), Abe Lim Hooi Sean.

The important thing is to focus on herself and whether she was doing a good job, Jamaliah explained.

"No matter who the competitors are, we should always self-evaluate whether we are doing the best we can or not,” she said.

Her focus is on ensuring her team is doing its best solving issues brought up by constituents, she added.

"Personally I think that other things don’t really matter,” she said.

Even if bigger fish were to declare their candidacy in Bandar Utama, she said she has faith in herself and her team after being on the ground for more than five years.

Jamaliah won the Bandar Utama seat in Election 2018 with a majority of 38,651 votes.

Pakatan harapan Bandar Utama candidate, Jamaliah Jamaluddin (centre) during a walkabout to meet residents at the Kg Cempaka night market. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

This time, she will be facing Lim as well as Gerakan’s Nur Aliff Mohd Tafid, who are both first-time candidates.

Selangor will be heading to the polls this Saturday along with Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

The six states decided against holding the state elections at the same time as GE15, citing concerns related to the annual flood season.

Early voting is today.