NIBONG TEBAL: The Unity Government is confident of securing a victory in the Sungai Bakap by-election this Saturday, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN) said that this confidence stemmed from the campaign strategies implemented by BN and UMNO to engage with and garner support from young voters for the Unity Government’s candidate, Dr Joohari Ariffin.
Apart from that, he said that the party’s election machinery had been focusing on 5,105 UMNO members who were voters in the Sungai Bakap state constituency since the candidate was announced on June 22.
“We have implemented specific programmes for the young voters. They may have different sentiments initially, but when approached with the right methods that suit their preferences, I believe that, ultimately, on the polling day, they will vote for Dr Joohari Ariffin as the Unity Government candidate.
“We are going to win, InsyaAllah,“ he told reporters after officiating the pre-launch of the Penang Department of Community Development (Kemas) Kindergarten Pre Tahfiz programme at the Perda-Tech Hall, Bukit Panchor, here today.
In light of this, Ahmad Zahid urged the Sungai Bakap voters to support the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate to complement the services provided by the Sungai Acheh assemblyman, namely UMNO’s Rashidi Zinol.
“I hope the parents (of Kemas students) will remain steadfast with me and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was born in Sungai Bakap, to continue leading us for the development in Sungai Bakap, Nibong Tebal, and InsyaAllah, throughout Penang with another state assemblyman from the Unity Government,” he said.
The Sungai Bakap by-election this Saturday sees Joohari challenged by Nibong Tebal PAS deputy president Abidin Ismail representing Perikatan Nasional (PN) in a one-on-one contest, following the death of the incumbent Nor Zamri Latiff on May 24 due to stomach inflammation.
