“Well, we don’t really know him,” said one of them. “It’s very hard for us to promote him to the people if we have never met him,” he added.
This was just one example of the those who have told me similar things about the BN candidate for the Pandan constituency: Gary Lim Chin Yee. The 38-year-old lawyer who is expected to fill the shoes of incumbent Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, who was dropped, for MCA this 13th General Election.
Trying to suspend belief that MCA would field someone who had a good chance of losing, as those that I spoke to may not reflect the sentiments of the majority, I decided to stalk Gary during his campaign to gauge his “winnability” here.
So about a week ago, I arranged to track Gary for a day.
Gary’s campaign had initially received flak to be not ‘media friendly’ but a couple of days ago, when I met him at the Pandan MCA war room a few days ago, it seemed to have shifted into a high gear.
The first thing I noticed about the candidate was that he seemed quite well-sheltered and supported by the BN machinery.
I saw a number of men, women, boys and girls in blue planning his propaganda and running the service centre. Gary himself always seemed surrounded by a few VIPs, at least one a Datuk, often hurriedly ushering him to the next destination.
“Ada pokok tumbang!” someone shouted before Gary and his team, and me, sped our way to the scene in a convoy which ignored, and zoomed past several red lights.
My first location with the candidate was at Taman Melur, where heavy rain and big winds from the night before fell a big tree which damaged four houses-- the perfect set up for a wakil rakyat to be.
Already, I saw that other YB-wannabes of the area capitalising on the situation. The state candidates for BN, Pakatan and also the independent for the parliamentary seat have already congregated at site.
But my main mission was not to observe them but Gary.
So this was the second thing I noticed about the candidate: Compared to your typical politician, Gary seemed quite the shy and 'nerdy' type.
He would often prefer stand back and allow those around him to introduce him, before he himself, sheepishly, extends a greeting hand.
I overheard Gary telling a resident complaining about overgrown trees: “Once election is over we'll definitely--” before being rudely and promptly cut off: "win already then say la..."
A slightly embarrassed, slouching, Gary could only offer another polite smile to the woman.
After shaking hands and meeting others, Gary told me he would look into assisting the residents with repairs and possibly legal action, which was the forte of the MCA Pandan legal bureau chief.
(A day later, I received a call from a resident saying he was at a lost with what to do with a gaping hole in his roof caused by the tree. “It’s now going to rain. The politicians who came the first day, and the local authorities are not here, what should I do?” he asked me)
That same evening, Gary's schedule brought him and his entourage to a mosque in Jalan Kuari where he was supposed to help in a clean up exercise.
But the event was cancelled after a long group huddle. The official reasoning was lack of time, though one observer told me that it was a mistake, and that the mosque was in fact not under the Pandan constituency.
So, an apologetic Gary was again whisked to a ceramah in Taman Saga where I noticed the third thing about Gary and the BN campaign.
For BN: public talks are more subdued. And at this particular ceramah, at Taman Saga, Gary was introduced with much cheer though only from small crowd of 50 people. All of them were wearing BN t-shirts or caps.
"Since Tee Keat is no longer the candidate, we applaud the BN's vision to put in a young candidates below 40, like our friend here Gary," said MCA Pandan division head Datuk Eric Ong, who joked that he was not picked himself due to his age.
The supporters clapped as Gary stood up and took the mic. "My name is Gary Lim Chin Yee." He started, his words deliberate and slow. He said that he has been a lawyer for 15 years, has a wife and child, and has worked full time for Pandan since 2011. His standard script.
“I see a lot of problems (in Pandan), especially legal issues. BN... can bring a bright and stable future. I feel and I am sure that BN can form the government.”
In his short three-minute speech..He said that he hoped everyone can support BN so that it can retake Selangor. He was not fiery and did not have a politician’s air about him, but the crowd gave him the expected cheer of support.
Finally agreeing to give me some attention, the Pandan-born Gary told me in a interview that it might not be exactly true that he was an unknown in the constituency.
(Gary is going up against PKR’s Rafizi Ramli and Ong’s former private secretary Allan Tan)
“How are you different from your opponents?” I asked. Gary's reply: “I’ve been serving the constituency for the past two years. I understand from the voters that I have been met during walkabout that they are not very familiar with the other two candidates. As such I am able to give them some familiarity... I can stand out compared to the other two.”
Trying to get Gary to perhaps lash out at his opponent failed when I asked about the allegation that he is investigated by the Bar Council over ‘impersonation’ as a lawyer.
He repeated his previous response, saying that his legal team is looking into the matter. “I maintain that the fact that the police and disciplinary board has yet to call me for inquiry, that shows that the matter is not as serious as he claims.”
And so after a glimpse into a day with the Pandan hopeful I can conclude that it is not without basis that Gary is the underdog in this race.
The only hope of Gary and MCA to outbid the likes of the more aggressive style of Rafizi and the spoiler factor of Allan-- is perhaps the strength of the BN machinery.
So far, already the son of Prime Minister Najib Razak, Mohd Nazifuddin; and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had campaigned alongside Gary. They were, in a way, holding his hand for the walk.
There is only less than a week for Gary himself to step forward and start shaking the hands of the voter more convincingly. Given the circumstances, the task seem uphill for first time candidate Gary Lim.
