MELAKA: An increase of 6% in the number of Malay voters in the Kota Melaka parliamentary constituency prompted Gerakan to field a Malay candidate in what has been a DAP stronghold.
The Gerakan candidate is Suhaime Borhan, standing for election on a Perikatan Nasional ticket.
Gerakan vice-president Michael Gan said Malay voters now made up 43% of the 164,140 registered voters in the constituency, compared to 37.8% of 126,848 registered voters in 2018.
“This caused us to change our strategy in terms of the candidate. It is the first time that Gerakan has placed a Malay candidate in Kota Melaka, giving the option to Malay voters in this constituency to vote for a Malay candidate.
“Previously the candidates were Chinese because the Chinese made up the highest number of voters there,” he said at a press conference to introduce Suhaime, a vice-chairman of Melaka Gerakan.
Gan, who is state Gerakan chairman, said fielding Suhaime was a step towards reforming the party in approaching Malay voters as well as proving that PN is a multi-racial party formed through an alliance with Bersatu and PAS.
He said the selection of Suhaime, 42, in the DAP traditional seat also took into account several other factors, including his almost 20 years of experience in politics from the grassroots level, his good personality and being free from issues.
Suhaime said he hoped to win more Malay votes, especially if the Malay voter turnout is high this time around.
“It is an honour to be fielded in Kota Melaka and looking at the relatively high percentage of Malay voters, I think there is no problem for me to serve in this constituency. I admit it is not easy but it is not impossible for PN to capture Kota Melaka,” said the businessman.
Suhaime will be in a four-cornered fight involving Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-DAP), Kon Qi Yao (BN-MCA) and independent candidate Dr Norazlanshah Hazali. Khoo won the seat in 2018 with a majority of 49,175 votes. - FMT
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