SEBERANG PERAI, May 2 — At 70 years old, Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar still cut a commanding presence as he walked around a housing area in Permatang Berangan.

Some constituents recognised him as the former Tasek Gelugor MP and former deputy minister, but did not know what to make of his new party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).

Making his rounds in his red PPBM shirt, the still-sprightly politician appeared well known in Tasek Gelugor.

In fact, the former Penang deputy chief minister believes that Tasek Gelugor became an Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold thanks to him.

"BN is strong here because of me, I started serving the people here since 1982 and I brought a lot of development and changes here that earned the trust of the people back then,” he said in an interview with Malay Mail.

Despite recent political upheavals, Tasek Gelugor and the three state constituencies under it — Permatang Berangan, Sungai Dua and Telok Ayer Tawar — have remained BN strongholds.

"I really served the people here then, they all know me and I believe they will support me and PH now because they too wanted change now,” he said.

Shariff was the Tasek Gelugor MP between 1990 and 1995 and again between 1999 to 2008.

He was Penang DCM between 1995 and 1999, before becoming a deputy minister for agriculture and agro-based industries.

He was also previously the Umno Tasek Gelugor division chief, before he was sacked in 2013 for contesting as an independent candidate in the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat.

Shariff joined PPBM in 2016 and, since then, has been gathering support from other former Umno members in the constituency who joined PPBM with him.

Former BN Sungai Dua assemblyman Datuk Jasmin Mohamed is one such person, and is now assisting him with his campaign.

"I decided to join in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s fight because Umno has changed, the party is no longer what it was,” Shariff said.

Shariff will go up against BN’s Nor Hafizah Othman, PAS’ Mohd Sobri Saleh and Parti Rakyat Malaysia’s (PRM) Azman Shah Othman.

In the Malay-majority area, Shariff said he will not only concentrate on the Malay community, but also look into the needs of the minorities such as the ethnic Indians and Chinese who make up about 15 per cent of the total registered voters in the constituency.

"As a representative, we must ensure everyone’s rights are taken care of, regardless of their race,” he said.

One of the issues he will try to resolve if he wins the seat is to secure a plot of land as a cemetery for the Indian community.

"It is surprising that the Indian community don’t have a cemetery in this constituency and they have to go very far to conduct their funeral rites,” he said.

He said this was a basic need that all communities must have and he will ensure that this is done for the community.

The main issues that most people face right now, he said, is the rising costs of living due to the goods and services tax (GST).

He said many constituents are from the middle to low income group and could barely make ends meet.

He said it is not only the Dr Mahathir factor that will draw people to support PH, but also bread and butter issues that directly affects voters.

When asked about the minimal PH flags sporting the PKR logo being put up around the constituency, he said it is not the flags that will sway voters.

"Voters will not vote because the party has more flags, their minds are made up, they will vote for change so it doesn’t matter how many flags they put up as compared to us, what’s important is that people support us,” he said.

Shariff also dismissed talks that PAS is a "kingmaker” that will split PH’s votes, saying they lacked support in the area.

The Permatang Berangan constituency has a total 21,120 registered voters and BN had retained the seat with a 1,621-vote majority in 2013.