MELAKA: Calls of “Datuk, come back” fuel Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee’s bid to return to the Melaka legislative assembly.
The Bersatu candidate for Pengkalan Batu, popularly known as “YB Hulk”, said encouragement from voters had strengthened his resolve as campaigning entered its final stretch.
Norhizam said he had covered more than 80% of the constituency and was banking on his service record to secure another mandate.
“I am not a new face to them. Everywhere I go, voters tell me, ‘Datuk, come back. We want to see the return of Melaka Hulk’,” he said when interviewed on Thursday (Nov 12).
Norhizam earned the nickname “YB Hulk” after a video showing him in a heated exchange with villagers in Bukit Beruang went viral in 2018.
He said his house-to-house visits had allowed him to reconnect with voters he had assisted while serving as their assemblyman and state executive councillor.
His previous service, he added, gave voters a record to assess when deciding whether to return him to office.
Norhizam first won Pengkalan Batu as a DAP candidate in the 2018 general election and served as a state executive councillor under the Pakatan Harapan administration, then.
After his departure from DAP in 2020, he contested as an independent in the 2021 state election but failed to retain the seat. Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Kalsom Noordin won the five-cornered contest.
On constituency concerns, Norhizam said drainage problems were among the main complaints raised by voters, particularly those living in villages surrounded by rapid development.
He said education assistance, welfare and economic opportunities would also be priorities if he was elected.
"I do not promise the moon and stars, but I promise solutions that can be delivered as I already served in this constituency and know the voters well,” he said.
Norhizam faces Barisan’s Siti Aisyah Mahmood, Pakatan’s Jason Tze-Xi Nathan and Parti Bersama Malaysia’s Goh Han Koon in a four-cornered contest.
Pengkalan Batu has 25,948 registered voters.
The Election Commission has set Saturday (Nov 14) as polling day for the Melaka state election, with campaigning ending at 11.59pm on Friday (Nov 13).
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