Kedah businesses hope for stable govt, policies that will help them

Businesses in Malaysia's northern state of Kedah are keeping close tabs on developments leading up to the Nov 19 general election.

- Kang Wang Chern

States to watch

With multi-cornered fights taking place for the first time in several of its 15 parliamentary constituencies, many are concerned about how the election will affect their investments. They want to see policies from the next government that will make it easier for them to expand their businesses.

Start-ups in the administrative capital of Alor Setar are among those feeling concerned.

"We want to have more events and create an entertainment scene like what we see in Bali or Penang to make Alor Setar a more vibrant place, yet we are seeing more raids and restrictions on entertainment. We don't want this state to be Islamicised," said Mr Winson Ooi, founder of Terrace 48, a bar.

Such concerns provide insight on how Kedah's 1.5 million-plus voters might cast their ballots. The majority of voters are rural Malays who may support Perikatan Nasional (PN), which heads the state government. PN counts Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) as part of the coalition.