MELAKA – Unlike the more brash and plain-spoken Pengkalan Batu incumbent Datuk Seri Norhizam Hassan Baktee, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for the seat, Muhamad Danish Zainudin, carries an aura of calm and composure with him.
This is made abundantly clear during The Vibes’ interview with the DAP member here recently, during which the latter shared his vision and challenges in being thrown in at the deep end of an election at such a young age.
Going up against Norhizam, who will be defending his seat as an independent, the 25-year-old Danish said he intends to utilise his youth and energy in serving the people if he is voted in.
Danish, nonetheless, acknowledges Norhizam’s “popularity” in the constituency, with the maverick seemingly on everyone’s lips.
“Whenever I meet people on the ground, they will talk about Norhizam. They will not highlight the other candidates from the other parties. They will focus more on Norhizam,” he said.
“I believe they are also not comfortable with that kind of character.”
In contrast, the corporate administration graduate said he will offer something different to what voters may have been accustomed to in the past few years under Norhizam’s watch – new politics.
However, Danish said it cannot be denied that Norhizam, a former DAP member, has done his duty in the constituency.
“Everybody knows about him. I think if you were to ask even someone outside Melaka, they will know Norhizam, too. But we need to look to the future, and we must move on from the past.
“We cannot change history, but we can change the future, plan well and do something for the betterment of the voters. I will ensure Pengkalan Batu becomes what I hope to see Malaysia become in the future.”
For Danish, the priority now is to convince voters to head to the ballots on November 20, with many supposedly worried about the Covid-19 pandemic.
He believes the concern of a low voter turnout is also being shared by other parties.
“We need to ensure they know that in this election, they will be electing someone who will serve them for the next five years. Some people don’t even know this.
“They are saying there is another election expected next year. But that is only for the parliamentary seats (for Melaka). So we need to focus on convincing voters outside Melaka to return to vote, and those in the state to come out (to polling stations),” he said.
On contesting at such a young age, Danish said he trusts that his team will ensure DAP retakes the seat.
Danish joined DAP in May 2017 and has slowly risen up the ranks. Presently, he is the secretary of the party’s state youth chapter, and Kota Melaka DAP Youth chief.
Apart from Norhizam, he is also facing Umno’s Datuk Kalsom Nordin, Bersatu’s Mohd Azrudin Md Idris and Putra’s Mohd Aluwi Sari.
Norhizam quit DAP after the collapse of the PH state government in March 2020, and later withdrew support for the state Barisan Nasional government last month with three others, triggering the election. – The Vibes, November 13, 2021
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