Voters need to elect someone who can't be bought - Slim candidate

SLIM POLLS | Pejuang-backed candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi appealed to Slim voters to choose a candidate with credibility who can't be bought.

The 38-year old candidate said people are perturbed by politicians who jumped ship leading to a change in the government.

"During the (Covid-19) pandemic, the change in the government happened. I believe the majority of the people were uncomfortable and restless watching their representatives jumping ship and supporting a government which they felt was handing out lucrative offers.

"The people thought that after the 14th general election, the process of fresh democracy was taking place but unfortunately, after 22 months, the opposite had happened. The change of the government took place when the people were already struggling (due to Covid-19)," he told Malaysiakini.

Based on those events, Amir said the voters in Slim should evaluate the candidate whom they will vote as their representative.

"I want to bring a fresh change in the political landscape. To young people, please give me a chance as a young candidate myself.

"The voters have to evaluate someone who has credibility, trustworthy, and can't be bought," he said.

On Aug 12, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Amir as an independent candidate representing his newly unveiled Parti Pejuang Tanah Air which has yet to be registered. 

Amir, who is a syariah lawyer, said he entered politics in March 2018 through his involvement as the chief legal adviser of Perak Bersatu. He contested for the Teluk Intan division chief post in February this year but lost.

Amir left Bersatu after its president Muhyiddin Yassin pulled the party out of the Pakatan Harapan coalition to join forces with the then opposition parties, including Umno and PAS, to form the Perikatan Nasional government.

'Slim is close to my heart'

Asked why he chose to contest in Slim, Amir said the constituency is "close to my heart".

For the record, he was born in Teluk Intan and grew up in Bidor, which is about 39km from Slim River.

Amir explained that his mother, late father and grandfather were religious teachers.

His opponent in the by-election, Mohd Zaidi Aziz who is from the BN, hails from Slim. The seat has been an Umno stronghold and represented by Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib for four terms before he died in July this year from heart failure. 

Umno, in its campaign, had highlighted that Amir should be rejected because he is an outsider.

Unperturbed by the attacks, Amir said: "I believe Slim has called me. This place is no stranger to my family and I. I have relatives and friends here. And I always come here to send my wife, who is a visiting radiology specialist at the Slim River Hospital.

"Having grown up in Bidor, I am familiar with the places in Slim. In fact, our neighbour was (the then Slim assemblyperson) Junus Wahid."

The seat will also be contested by another independent candidate, Santharasekaran Subramaniam.

During GE14 in 2018, Khusairi won the seat by defeating Bersatu's Mohd Amran Ibrahim and PAS' Muhammad Zulfadli Zainal by a majority of 2,183 votes.

Voting will be held on Aug 29, with early voting to take place on Aug 25. - Mkini