He acknowledged that the party had received lukewarm response from the older generation living in these areas, mostly involved in agriculture, despite organising talks for them.
He said the party had seen some changes in the younger crowd.
“The youths have access to the Internet. They are aware of the 1MDB issue and the struggle in facing the high cost of living,” he told FMT.
The Batu MP said PKR had been giving talks in the Barisan Nasional heartland in Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) areas, the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Felcra) schemes and small-time rubber estates, but the response has not been very encouraging.
“We are not getting immediate results. A lot more work is needed in these areas, especially among the older generation,” he said, adding that the party would continue to address daily issues affecting rural folk.
He said it was easier to garner support from urban areas as city folk were up to date on the 1MDB issue and the impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on their daily lives.
DAP has 37 seats while PKR won 29 seats, out of the total 222 parliamentary seats nationwide.
“DAP has taken up vast urban seats. That is why PKR has to win rural seats,” he said, adding that the latest proposed redelineation by the Election Commission (EC) could see his party losing more seats in the coming general election.
EC has proposed for 12 parliamentary and 34 state constituencies in the peninsula to undergo a name change. It also listed 13 proposed new state constituencies for Sabah, increasing the number of the state seats to 73 under the redelineation exercise.
PKR has claimed that the recent redelineation exercise by the EC would lead to racial polarisation as the new proposed amendments showed a huge number of Malay voters being moved into traditional Umno seats and non-Malays being moved out into Opposition seats.
Tian Chua said one of the ways to create awareness on national issues and on the redelineation exercise was by organising rallies such as the ones carried out by Bersih, a watchdog group initially set up to fight for free and fair elections.
He said Bersih hoped to organise roadshows in places such as Alor Star and Kangar, in November this year, in an attempt to go beyond urban areas and to create awareness in areas outside the major urban areas.
“It involves a lot of hard work. We have to try because it is not as easy as mobilising people in the city,” added Tian Chua.
Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said the reason Bersih carried out rallies in the capital city was because it was easier to get publicity at the national and international levels.
Furthermore, he said a lot of rural voters worked in the capital city and went back home to vote.
“But we can see there is an attempt by Bersih to organise rallies in rural areas. Even though it is harder to mobilise support in rural areas, especially in BN strongholds, there is awareness of the impact of national issues on the younger crowd. “
Bersih is demanding for reforms to become a national agenda, for the parliamentary democracy system to be strengthened and for the prime minister to step down.
The campaign will use a theme that translates to “Combine Our Energy — New Malaysia”, with an open invitation for all political parties, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, to participate.
Bersih will launch the Bersih convoy across the nation on Oct 1.
The flag-off will take place in six regions: northern peninsula (Kangar), southern peninsula (Johor Bahru), east coast (Kota Bharu), west coast (Lumut), Sabah (Sandakan) and Sarawak (Miri).
“Bersih torches” will be passed throughout the 246 stops planned.
A big rally is planned in Kuala Lumpur for Nov 19.