His rivals are greenhorns, while he has become a familiar face among constituents, turning up to attend funerals in the constituency in the past two years.
Mustafa reckons he has attended more than 100 funerals, as many as three in one day, for people of all faiths: Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or others. Some wakes were those of BN supporters.
Just last week, he was at five.
“Visiting your family or friends who have lost their loved ones is a Malaysian culture. For me, when someone dies, it is like someone in my own family has died. I mourn for them.
“So, I pay my last respects and help in every way I can. I consider those who have passed on like my own family members,” he said in an interview with FMT at his service centre in Taman Nakhoda here yesterday.
Mustafa said he began this unusual practice in 2016 when he was appointed the state government’s constituency coordinator for Telok Ayer Tawar, a position created after Umno assemblymen rejected the allocations to assemblymen provided by the state government.
Mustafa has asked all village security and development committees (JKKK) to alert him about any funerals so that he could attend to them as soon as he could.
The unassuming PKR candidate is proving to have a significant edge over his other opponents in the race.
Mustapha, 66, a businessman runs three tuition centres in Kepala Batas, Tasek Gelugor and Bukit Mertajam.
In Telok Ayer Tawar, he will face Zamri Che Ros (BN), Mohamad Hanif Haron (PAS) and Lee Thian Hong (Parti Rakyat Malaysia).
Telok Ayer Tawar has been an Umno bastion for the past five terms, held by Jahara Hamid, the opposition leader in the state assembly. She has decided to retire from politics.
Mustafa feels good about his chances as his opponents were new to voters.
“I have been in politics for the past 30 years and I also have experience working at the Consumers’ Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia. I know what the peoples’ problems are, and people can relate to me. I think my chances are good.”
Telok Ayer Tawar has 17,932 voters, with 66% Malays, 33% Chinese and 1% Indians.
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