ALOR SETAR: Despite losing three times in past elections, seafood entrepreneur Zubir Ahmad (pic) is not a quitter and is hoping to make it on his fourth attempt.
Knowing he has a daunting task ahead, Zubir is unperturbed and is banking on the support of his party machinery and homeground advantage.
PAS has named him candidate in Langkawi to take on Pakatan Harapan’s Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
It will be a three-cornered fight as incumbent Datuk Nawawi Ahmad will be defending the “hottest” parliamentary seat for Barisan Nasional.
Zubir, 55, believes his “Anak Langkawi” status will work to his advantage. “I was born and have lived here all my life.
“Tun Mahathir has earned a lot of respect among the locals while Nawawi is an incumbent, but the way I see it, the people want a change of representative,” he said during his candidacy announcement yesterday.
In 2004, Zubir contested in Langkawi but lost. He then switched to stand in Ayer Hangat state seat under the parliamentary constituency in 2008 and 2013.
Zubir is the Langkawi PAS chief and is on the verge of completing his diploma at Institut Latihan Kepemimpinan dan Perkaderan Dakwah Islamiyah Kedah.
Asked on his perception of the situation, Zubir said he hoped Dr Mahathir’s candidacy would help split Barisan votes by at least 35%, which could enable PAS to win.
Dr Ahmad Fakhruddin also announced that the initial PAS candidate for Jerai, Mohamad Ismail, had been replaced with religious teacher Mohamad Sabri Azit.
