Rafizi, the economy minister, said Malay voters nationwide had been “anxious” after the unity government led by Pakatan Harapan (PH) was formed in 2022, as they feared a loss of their rights.

He said such fears had been fuelled by the opposition since 2020, when Perikatan Nasional (PN) was in power.

Speaking at a ceramah in Sungai Bakap last night, he said PN had also exploited these fears at last year’s state elections.

“But I’ve done some ground work and Alhamdulillah (thank God), I can say this anxiety among Malay voters has diminished,” he said.

He said the fact that he was not pelted with stones during walkabouts in Malay villages, as had happened in the past, was proof that the community was now less apprehensive.

“Everyone seemed calm, and based on the data I obtained, if we can run a good campaign, we will see a swing in Malay votes (towards PH).”

Yesterday, FMT reported that PH appeared to have its work cut out for it to win over Malay voters in the constituency – 77% of whom gave PN their backing in the last state polls.

While federal ministers as well as Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari made appearances on the campaign trail over the weekend, the majority of Malay voters appeared still unconvinced.

A source in PKR said PH was confident of winning in Puteri Gunung, the largest mixed-race district in the constituency, but had found it hard to penetrate Sungai Kechil, Tasek Junjong and Sungai Duri, the home town of PN candidate Abidin Ismail of PAS.

The other four districts – Padang Lalang, Sungai Bakap, Ladang Sempah and Kampung Besar – remain a toss-up, the grassroots leader said.

Abidin faces PH candidate Joohari Ariffin of PKR in the by-election slated for this Saturday.

Based on data from the 2023 polls, Sungai Bakap comprises 59.36% Malay voters, 22.54% Chinese and 17.39% Indian, while 0.71% are from other ethnicities.