GE15: Serving Melaka my priority, says state Pakatan chairman

MELAKA: Despite invitations to contest outside of Melaka, state Pakatan Harapan chairman Adly Zahari says he chose to stay put, as it is more important to serve where he grew up.

“I am from Durian Tunggal and my responsibility (as a local) is to give my best, especially to the place I was born.

“Although I received offers to contest elsewhere, it is still my priority to serve the people of Melaka,” said Adly, who is Pakatan’s candidate in Alor Gajah.

Adly, who is also the former Melaka chief minister, said there were many things lined up when Pakatan ruled the state.

“We had plans to develop Alor Gajah and make it a satellite city, with Pakatan’s focus then being towards education, housing and industries.

“We almost finalised this during our administration but then the state government fell.

“To me, however, that was not the end of it and the effort to make Alor Gajah a satellite city is still realistic for me to pursue, and one step towards that is for Pakatan to win this seat,” he told a press conference after officially announcing Pakatan’s candidates for the Melaka parliamentary seats on Thursday (Nov 3).

In March 2020, the Melaka state government led by Pakatan fell after two of its assemblymen switched sides to Perikatan Nasional.

They were Melaka DAP’s Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee and PKR’s Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis.

On whether there would be a separate manifesto for Melaka, Adly said the national manifesto issued by Pakatan had encompassed issues which would tie back into the state’s development.

“This includes the rising cost of living, education and health issues, which are included in Pakatan’s overall manifesto,” he said.

Responding to a question on Muda’s Muthalib Uthman’s candidacy in Masjid Tanah, Adly said many other parties had also began placing “new” candidates in various constituencies.

“Even in Alor Gajah, we can see that a new face will be contesting there,” he said in reference to Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan as it’s candidate there.

“The most important thing (to become an MP) is to have potential and talent.

“And we can see that Muthalib, through his professional and political experience, fits the bill here,” he said, adding that Pakatan’s candidate selection was based on an individual's charisma to ensure he could serve the people.

Earlier during the press conference, Adly announced that Pakatan would be contesting all six parliamentary seats in Melaka for the 15th General Election (GE15).

The Tangga Batu and Hang Tuah Jaya seats would be contested by PKR candidates Rusnah Aluai and Adam Adli respectively, Jasin and Alor Gajah by Parti Amanah Negara candidates Datuk Harun Mohamed and Adly Zahari.

DAP’s Khoo Poay Tiong will be contesting in Kota Melaka with Muda’s Muthalib Uthman in Masjid Tanah.

Nomination day for GE15 is on Nov 5 with polling day on Nov 19.