Nationally and in Melaka, firebrand UMNO Youth chief Akmal Saleh puts on two different faces

MERLIMAU, Melaka – For Deepavali, UMNO Youth chief Akmal Saleh was in an Indian family’s kitchen, making thosai and feeding a piece of it to an elderly woman he affectionately called “amma” – or mother in Tamil.In a Facebook post on Nov 9, Akmal said he has known the woman since his schooldays when she sold the South Indian crepe at the Merlimau market, where she continues to trade today. He said he treated her like his own mother.Before that, at a gathering hosted by a Tamil youth club, he wore a traditional ceremonial shawl and garland, and recounted how he had personally distributed chickens to Indian households in his constituency for Deepavali every year for the past four years.“I am like family to the Indians here. Not just when I want to contest in an election,” he told the gathering.The scenes stood in contrast to his combative public image, whose confrontational remarks on race and religion have repeatedly stirred tensions within the country’s multiethnic society.Other comments by voters showed how differently he is perceived by the locals, who praised him for his quick response – especially to the recurring floods in the area.Amier Rusydan, 26, a storekeeper who moved to Merlimau in 2006, said Akmal is quick to inspect drains and rivers and help residents whose homes were damaged.“His work here has been 100% excellent,” he told The Straits Times. “I am a Pakatan Harapan (PH) voter, but for Merlimau, I support BN.”Cashier Nurul Ain Mahmor, 36, who has lived in Merlimau for 15 years, related how she received RM350 from Akmal when her house was flooded, as well as money for cleaning supplies. It is not clear if the money was drawn from a constituency fund or paid out of his own pocket.Similarly, chicken rice shop owner Marlina Sardi, 52, said Akmal had given her RM100 to RM200 during Ramadan to support her business. He had also provided traders with free tents and aprons.“If we have problems, we go to him and he helps. He has never turned us away,” she told ST, calling him “the best representative” the constituency has ever had.The two faces of AkmalThis grassroots goodwill exists in sharp contrast to his national profile, where the 38-year-old politician has built a reputation for sharp rhetoric on race and religion.In the semi-rural state constituency of Merlimau, Akmal won the seat for Barisan Nasional (BN) in 2021 with 5,633 votes, defeating PH’s candidate by a majority of 3,248 in a three-cornered contest that also included Perikatan Nasional (PN).This time, he faces a straight fight against PH’s Rahayu Hamzah, who heads the women’s wing of Parti Amanah Negara’s Melaka chapter.The Malay-majority seat has about 19,759 voters, roughly 70 per cent Malay, 16 per cent Chinese and 11 per cent Indian.As Akmal seeks re-election on Nov 14, the Melaka state polls are set to demonstrate whether voters can separate a representative’s record of delivering for constituents from rhetoric that critics say deepens racial divisions.For some, the effusive praise does not outweigh Akmal’s incendiary remarks on race and religion.An ethnic Indian resident who declined to be named did not buy Akmal’s label of the community as “family”, as he accused him of favouring Malay voters when distributing assistance.“He says one thing and does another. He can give to his own race but for us Chinese and Indians, no way. He only takes care of his own race,” the resident told ST.He said festival aid and food handouts did not amount to meaningful support, questioning whether Akmal would help non-Malays with bigger needs such as housing or land. He intends to vote for Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s PH coalition.Despite all his backing for Akmal, even voter Amier said the UMNO man was often too outspoken on race and religion.“He stands up for Malay rights, which is good, but perhaps there are things he needs to tone down on. Malaysia is not just Malays. There are Chinese and Indians too,” he said.Other voters such as a 65-year-old Chinese business owner, who only wanted to be known as Ho, chalked Akmal’s behaviour down to mere politics: “That is just to attract attention.”Even his staunch critics, such Democratic Action Party (DAP) member Wong Chee Kiong, acknowledged the incumbent’s influence in the constituency.“In everyday community matters, he is very good. But in politics, he stirs racial sentiments,” said Wong, who is a village head in Alor Gajah, Melaka.Can Akmal remain a divisive voice?As UMNO Youth chief, Akmal has repeatedly positioned himself as a defender of Malay and Muslim interests, often taking a confrontational approach towards DAP, the predominantly Chinese party that is the party’s partner in Anwar’s unity government.In 2024, Akmal led calls to boycott convenience store chain KK Super Mart after socks bearing the word “Allah” were found sold at some of its outlets. He was later arrested for alleged sedition after police reports were lodged in connection with a speech he made over the socks controversy.Akmal also demanded that UMNO leave the unity government, and resigned from his position as a Melaka state executive council member in January to “fight DAP to the end” although his resignation was rejected by the chief minister.DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong told ST that he had to become a “firefighter”, regularly having to counter Akmal’s race-centred rhetoric.“Those who champion race-centric politics must constantly manufacture racial friction to cast themselves as ‘heroes’ of their own ethnic group,” he said.He said political leaders should seek solutions rather than manufacture enemies, and that he would continue challenging what he considered misleading narratives with reason and logic.The tensions reflect the uneasy political alliance since Anwar’s PH coalition formed a unity government with BN in November 2022.After PH withdrew from the Melaka state government, BN reached a seat-sharing pact with former rival PN to avoid three-cornered contests for the state election.Syaza Shukri, a political analyst at the International Islamic University Malaysia, said Akmal’s appeal lay less in his confrontational style than in the anger and frustration reflected in his remarks.“The things that he says, those are what resonate most…when things are difficult, it is easier (for people) to get angry, and that is the fuel for him,” she said.His national political persona did not necessarily determine how Merlimau voters viewed him, where his accessibility and visible presence in the community mattered more, she added.Sunway University political scientist Wong Chin Huat said Malaysia’s deep ethnic and religious divisions created an audience for communal rhetoric.“Playing communal heroes pays, especially if your constituency is monoethnic or your party is monoethnic,” he said, arguing that Akmal’s approach could help him consolidate Malay support but make it harder for UMNO to regain non-Malay voters.“Winning back the non-Malay support is not what UMNO really cares about. Its main concern is securing Malay support.”As such, Akmal’s antics may yet continue – or be taken up by someone else.Political analyst Azmi Hassan from Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research described Akmal as an asset to UMNO. He explained how the party’s youth chief had traditionally been expected to voice positions more confrontational than those of its senior leadership.“His confrontational politics is not something new or out of the blue, but it is expected from the Youth wing,” he said.Additional reporting by Harith Mustaffa and Lok Jian WenSign up for our weekly Asian Insider Malaysia Edition newsletter to make sense of the big stories in Malaysia.