MELAKA – DAP has expressed support for Melaka Pakatan Harapan chairman Adly Zahari to be elected as Melaka chief minister if the coalition succeeds in forming a government after the Melaka election on November 20.
DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke said the party was also focused on ensuring victory for PH in the election, despite having disagreed with the decision to field Sg Udang rep Datuk Seri Idris Haron and incumbent Pantai Kundor rep Datuk Nor Azman Hassan to contest under the coalition’s ticket.
“Our stance is clear that although we do not agree with the nomination of the two candidates, we still want Pakatan Harapan to win and DAP's focus is to ensure the party wins in all the eight seats it is contesting and contribute eight seats to PH.
“If PH succeeds in forming the state government, DAP’s stand is to support Adly as the chief minister of Melaka,” he told a press conference before launching Trak Harapan here today.
Idris and Nor Azman, who contested as Barisan Nasional candidates in the last general election, were fielded as PH candidates for the Asahan and Pantai Kundor seats in this state election.
For the record, PH has not announced its candidate for the Melaka chief minister’s post if the coalition succeeds in forming a government after the election.
Loke said although it was difficult to campaign this time, DAP would optimise its online platforms in line with the strict standard operating procedures set by the Election Commission (EC) for the Melaka election to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
He said DAP would use their social media channels and Zoom to deliver talks with two or three programmes to run simultaneously every night, besides calling on DAP supporters to contribute funds to the party online.
“We will also make short videos about our campaign and candidates, and we will display these short videos in all the constituencies we are contesting on our mobile trucks,” he said.
On Ng Choon Koon, the independent candidate for the Bemban seat, Loke said Ng had applied to become a DAP member in June and was approved by the party’s headquarters at the end of July.
“Since he has chosen to contest as an independent candidate, according to the DAP constitution, any member who contests as an independent candidate will have his/her party membership revoked with immediate effect.
“Hence, Ng’s membership as a DAP member is automatically revoked,” he added.
Loke said Ng was a former MCA member, but quit the party on December 26, 2018.
On the PH candidate for the Pengkalan Batu seat, Muhammad Danish Zainudin, a DAP member, Loke said Danish had been appointed as the coordinator in the constituency since the incumbent assemblyman and ex-DAP man Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee changed his support and caused the fall of the PH government in Melaka.
“He (Danish) has been on the ground for more than a year…even though he is a newcomer, I always believe that we must give opportunity to young candidates,” he added.
The EC has set November 20 as polling day for the Melaka election and November 16 for early voting.
The election was called following the dissolution of the state assembly on October 4 after four state assembly members withdrew support for the leadership of Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali. – Bernama, November 9, 2021
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