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KULIM – Winning the Padang Serai parliamentary seat for the 15th general election (GE15) will be the best gift for Pakatan Harapan chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said PH candidate Mohamad Sofee Razak.
He said to ensure the victory, he and the coalition election machinery needs to work harder to woo voters in the area and should not take things lightly.
“In my campaigning these past few days, I have made my appeal to voters to give PH a chance to win the Padang Serai seat because the victory will be a gift from the people here to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“...the response from the community is encouraging and InsyaAllah we hope the voters in Padang Serai will continue to give support during this campaigning period,” he told reporters while campaigning at a market here today.
In the meantime, Sofee, who is also Kedah PH secretary, said he would take up where the former Padang Serai MP left off, adding that the late M. Karupaiya had an excellent track record in the constituency.
Sofee, 47, who is a lawyer, replaced Karupaiya, 69, who died due to a heart attack and health complications on November 16.
Meanwhile, a victory of Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to inject a new spirit into its members and leaders nationwide.
BN candidate Datuk C. Sivarraajh said that although the political situation in this country is still uncertain, he believes the people still have a soft spot for the coalition.
“I believe the Padang Serai constituents will give BN an opportunity to fix the party and the country, and I also believe the wave will start here,” he said during campaign rounds with young people here today.
The former MIC Youth chief was also optimistic that BN’s decision to join the unity government at the federal level would not impact the voting behaviour in the constituency.
He said BN has a chance to win the seat, although it would be a daunting task, adding that he would work hard with the party’s machinery to win the voters’ support.
“We are facing many challenges, among them, the polling falls on a working day. But, I believe we can see solid support if our voters go out to cast their ballots.
“I’m not saying this is an easy task, but with our hard work, commitment and dedication together with the Padang Serai BN leadership, it is possible (to win), and we could make a wave from here.”
Following Karupaiya’s death, polling for the Padang Serai constituency has been postponed to December 7 and early voting on December 5.
Karupaiya won the parliamentary seat in the 2018 general election with a majority of 8,813 votes defeating Muhamad Sobri Osman (PAS) and Datuk Leong Yong Kong (BN). – Bernama, November 26, 2022