TAPAH: The selection of Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir, who has a religious background and is highly qualified, as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Ayer Kuning state by-election was made after reviewing reports from various quarters.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is also UMNO president said his party had conducted a study on the backgrounds of the six individuals on the shortlist, before deciding on Dr Mohamad as the BN candidate.
“Alhamdulillah Dr Yusri has been selected and God willing this time he is someone with a religious background and good qualifications. In addition, I was informed that his wife is of Chinese descent.
“So hopefully it will be an advantage for him and I mentioned in my speech that the BN and PH (Pakatan Harapan) machinery will join hands to mobilise their respective machinery to ensure Dr Yusri win the April 26 by-election,“ he told reporters today.
He said this after launching the BN machinery the party’s Command Centre in Kampung Haji Tahir, Temoh near here.
The announcement of the BN candidate for the Ayer Kuning state by-election was made by Perak BN chairman Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad at the same ceremony today.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said that approximately 46 per cent of voters in Ayer Kuning are young voters and among them are first-time voters.
“We have asked Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri (UMNO) to join hands to attract their support, especially Pemuda and Puteri will have their own programmes to attract these groups,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, he also said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hoped that the big wins in the previous Nenggiri and Mahkota by-elections could be used as an example for the victory in the Ayer Kuning by-election.
Ayer Kuning has 31,897 registered voters, consisting of 31,315 ordinary voters and 582 police officers and spouses.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling day for the Ayer Kuning by-election on April 26, with nomination day on April 12 and early voting on April 22.
