Amin Zulfikar, 30, said he was sceptical of promises made by politicians as it was the NGOs that were quick to respond to the catastrophic floods last year.
He believed that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Mohamad Sabu, who is defending the seat, would not win by a huge majority this time.
“Impossible,” the delivery rider said, when asked about Mohamad’s chances of winning big on Saturday.
“Don’t forget that during the floods, the politicians were late. Most of the aid came from NGOs. That’s why I’m frustrated.”
In the last election, Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, won by a 71,142 vote-majority. He garnered 90,697 votes, beating his nearest rival, PAS’ Mohamed Diah Baharun, who received only 19,555 votes.
Fadil Jamaluddin, 52, said Mohamad has a better chance of winning because most voters in the constituency were “PH fanatics”.
“Despite being rarely seen on the ground during the floods, I think he will still win, but not by a landslide, said the technician, adding that voters were not familiar with the other candidates.
Another resident, Jefry Abdullah, 56, said bread and butter issues are the main concern now.
“What can the candidates offer? The majority of us are in the low-income B40 bracket. We are not sure if we can survive with our current salaries in the future.
“We are not sure if the economy will get better or worse after the elections.”
Jefry said politicians often talk about national issues, but those trapped in poverty could not relate to them as they were more focused on putting food on the table.
“Maybe the high-income (T20) people are keen on national issues, but not us,” he said.
Shahrul Redzhairi, 25, noted the lack of excitement in the election campaign at Taman Sri Muda. “It’s dull here,” he said.
He said politicians tended to “recycle issues” which did not directly benefit the voters. “I think what we actually want to hear is a manifesto that can be realised.”
Kota Raja will witness an eight-cornered fight involving Mohamad, Fahmi Bazlan (Gerakan Tanah Air), D Kajendran (Barisan Nasional), Mohamed Diah Baharun (Perikatan Nasional), Sarah Afiqah Zainol Arif (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) and three independent candidates.