Reezal hoping to redeem himself by contesting in Bertam state seat

N02 camdidates for Bertam Datuk Sri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (left) UMNO and Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (right) greeting each other after nominate themselves at Dewan Millenium ,Kepala Batas , Penang

KEPALA BATAS: Barisan Nasional candidate for Bertam, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, has brushed aside talk that he will be appointed as the Penang deputy chief minister should he win the seat.

He said for now, he is focusing on winning the seat and will not entertain any speculation.

“The only sense inside of me right now is the sense of redemption. I want to redeem my defeat,” he told reporters at the Dewan Millennium nomination centre here yesterday.

Reezal Merican failed to defend the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election and became one of the biggest casualties for Barisan in the state.

This is the first time he is contesting a state seat.

He will be locking horns with incumbent Khalid Mehtab Mohd Ishaq from Perikatan Nasional in a straight fight.

The Bertam state seat comes under the Kepala Batas parliamentary constituency, previously held by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and was a safe deposit for Barisan in the last five decades.

Reezal admitted that it will be a tough challenge for him to take on his contender.

“It will be challenging, as Khalid has served here for five years, surely there are some advantages.“But there is a strong support from Bertam voters who want me to represent them,” he added.

Khalid, who is Penang Perikatan election director, is not taking the battle lightly as he is facing a well-known figure who had served as a former minister and MP.

“I will take this as a challenge and do my best to win,” he said, adding that the Malay votes are leaning towards his coalition.

Five other Malay-concentrated seats will also see a straight fight between Barisan-Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan.

In Sungai Dua, Barisan has sent Umno supreme council member Datuk Dr Shaik Hussein Mydin to take on Perikatan’s Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff.

Barisan also fielded Mohd Naim Salleh against Perikatan’s Mohd Yusni Mat Piah in Penaga, and Nor Hafizah Othman is facing Perikatan’s Mohd Sobri Saleh from PAS in Permatang Berangan.

In Pinang Tunggal, Pakatan’s Zainuddin Mohamed is challenging Perikatan’s Bukhori Ghazali while in Telok Ayer Tawar, Pakatan candidate Mohsein Shariff will take on Perikatan’s Azmi Alang.