MUAR, Aug 27 — Kelantan Wanita Amanah chief Dr Hafidzah Mustaqim has advised voters in Pulai and Simpang Jeram to reject parties harping on 3R (royalty, religion and race) issues in their campaign.
Dr Hafidzah, the Kota Lama state assemblyman in Kelantan, also urged the voters to abandon politicians who indulge in name-calling.
The Kelantan Wanita Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) deputy head said Perikatan Nasional (PN) had opened their campaign in Simpang Jeram by filling their ceramah (political talks) with uncouth language and giving unsavoury labels for certain individuals.
“To me, we can fight this with Malaysia Madani but this concept has yet to be fully disseminated. Based on my experience in Kelantan, we are not fighting manifestos; we are fighting against sentiments touching on religion, race and royalty,” she said after accompanying the Harapan candidate in Simpang Jeram, Nazri Abdul Rahman, to the nomination centre yesterday.
Dr Hafidzah created an upset by snatching the Kota Lama seat from PAS in the recent state election, making her one of only two opposition assemblymen in the 45-seat Kelantan State Assembly.
After the recent state elections in six states, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said it would take time for the people to fully appreciate the Unity Government’s Madani policy, and the challenge was for the party machinery and leadership to impress it upon people at the grassroots level.
Dr Hafidzah said the people should place their trust in the Unity Government involving the Barisan Nasional-Harapan alliance as it had proven itself by attracting big investors into the country, easing inflation and launching the Payung Rahmah initiative.
She will help the Amanah candidate in Simpang Jeram by conducting in-person and online campaigns to woo voters.
The Pulai parliamentary by-election sees Harapan’s Suhaizan Kaiat taking on PN’s Zulkifli Jaafar and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi, while the Simpang Jeram state by-election involves Nazri, PN’s Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya and independent candidate S. Jeganathan.
The two by-elections were triggered by the death of Amanah deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.
The Election Commission has set Sept 5 for early voting and Sept 9 for polling for both by-elections.
— Bernama
