With over half-a-million residents, PJ, as it is popularly called, is easily the most developed part of Malaysia.
Originally built as a satellite township to help the growth of Kuala Lumpur, it was given city-status in 2006, just two years before its administration was taken over by a loose alliance of opposition parties made up of PKR, PAS and DAP, which swept to power in the state.
PJ, as a parliamentary constituency, was first created for the 7th general election (GE7) in 1986, when the DAP’s Eng Seng Chai won against BN’s Lee Phon Yong.
In the subsequent polls in 1990, DAP’s candidate at the time, Kua Kia Soong, replaced Eng and won with an even larger majority.
PJ was divided into PJ Utara and PJ Selatan in 1994, just before GE9. It was then that BN finally got a foothold in this town.
MCA’s Donald Lim Siang Chai won with a large majority in PJ Selatan. BN also got a bonus, when the coalition’s Lim Kuo Phau won PJ Utara uncontested, after the Election Commission (EC) dismissed Kua’s candidacy in what the veteran DAP leader later blamed on internal saboteurs.
In GE13, DAP’s Tony Pua managed to defend PJ Utara with a whopping 80% of the votes while in PJ Selatan, PKR’s Hee Loy Sian retained the seat with an even larger majority of over 63% of the votes.
North and South
Due to the large concentration of urban Chinese, both BN and the opposition have traditionally pushed non-Malay candidates in the constituencies.
This is despite the pockets of Malays in the working-class areas of Taman Medan and Taman Dato Haron in the south (PJ Selatan), as well as in the more middle-class, urban neighbourhood of Kampung Tunku in the north (PJ Utara).
While the opposition’s grip on both parliamentary constituencies seems secure, PJ Utara MCA division chief Tam Gim Tuan told FMT that in PJ, it was no longer about party politics.
“The people of Petaling Jaya want a good candidate regardless of which party that candidate comes from,” he said.
“If you cannot perform, they don’t care whether you’re from MCA or DAP, you can get out.”
Tam said Pakatan Harapan (PH), the alliance of PKR, DAP, Amanah and PPBM, was too focused on national issues and ignored the everyday problems faced by PJ residents, such as flash floods at Section 17 and the loss of green lungs due to overdevelopment.
“Meanwhile, everyone’s blaming each other and no one wants to take responsibility.
“The parliamentarians will say this is not their problem, the assemblymen will say it’s not theirs, and the council will also not want to take responsibility.”
Tam believes BN still has a fighting chance if it can show the people of PJ that it will be able to solve their problems.
“PJ is going to be hard for everyone (to win). Currently, the problem is that there’s too much politicking going on and the voters in PJ don’t care about all that.
“They don’t want people who only know how to talk. They want performers and people who can deliver.”
Taman Medan
A big part of PJ Selatan consists of the working class, such as in Taman Medan, along the busy Jalan Klang Lama and the New Pantai Expressway (NPE).
Taman Medan is a Malay-majority state seat within PJ Selatan.
Mention of the name brings back memories of the 2001 racial clashes in the neighbourhood, between Indian and Malay communities after a misunderstanding.
The riots escalated and spread through Kampung Gandhi, Kampung Lindungan, Kampung Datuk Harun, Taman Desa Ria and the surrounding Jalan Klang Lama.
The riots, which lasted several days from March 4 to 13, started a racial crisis that spread all the way through Petaling Jaya, Jalan Gasing, Kelana Jaya, Sungai Way, Bandar Sunway and Puchong. Six people died and scores were wounded.
Taman Medan entered the spotlight once again in 2015, following protests against a shoplot church in the area which had displayed a cross at a high vantage point.
On April 19, some 50 protesters gathered outside the church and demanded that the cross be removed, saying it was considered disturbing to Muslims.
Although the church eventually complied, the Selangor government urged it to restore the cross and promised to protect the church.
PKR first won the Malay-majority state seat when it fielded Haniza Mohd Talha in 2008. Haniza won again in GE13 but with a slightly decreased majority.
Haniza believes that her higher majority in 2008 was because of protest votes from within Umno, while the 2013 results showed the actual sentiments.
“In 2008, there were different camps within Umno and each wanted to field its own candidate. When those camps didn’t get what they wanted, they voted against the party,” she told FMT.
In GE13, there were a total of five candidates competing for the state seat which included two independent candidates and a candidate from Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA). KITA only managed to get 55 votes.
Haniza said the fact that PKR had triumphed over the others showed that it enjoyed strong support from the constituents.
“In 2013, there was an attempt by BN to split the votes by fielding independents but that was insignificant,” she said.
When asked about the possibility that Taman Medan would once again see a multi-cornered fight in GE14, Haniza said it was a likely scenario.
“PAS intends to field its candidate Ariffin Mahaiyuddin,” she said.
But if the GE13 results were anything to go by, she said, a three or even five-cornered battle would not threaten PKR.