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MELAKA – The culture of “cah keting” (internal sabotage) is always a headache for imported candidates because they are seen as trying to nullify division-level decisions on who is eligible to contest an electoral seat.
They are also seen as being given an easy path to contest in the seat set by the party leadership, while the work of wooing voters has been done for a long time by the party machinery at the grassroots level.
In Melaka, three imported candidates are contesting in the 15th general election (GE15), namely Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Masjid Tanah candidate Mutalib Uthman from Muda, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Alor Gajah candidate Shahril Sufian Hamdan from Umno, and PH’s Hang Tuah Jaya candidate Adam Adli Abd Halim (PH-PKR).
Alor Gajah Umno division acting chief Datuk Rospandi Leman said it was normal for the leadership to make last-minute changes and field imported candidates if they feel they have the potential to win in the contested areas.
The Alor Gajah BN chairman, however, said imported candidates need to be humble and aware that they are newcomers.
Meanwhile, Shahril said his candidacy was decided by the party and he was not contesting as an individual.
“Actually, the most important thing is the willingness of the people in Alor Gajah to vote for BN again,” he said.
Mutalib meanwhile believes PH component parties have helped him a lot in carrying out the campaign in Masjid Tanah, since Muda does not have a big election machinery like other parties.
“We do ask components to help in each state constituency. For example, recently our friends from DAP held a talk featuring party veteran Lim Kit Siang in Kg Paya Mengkuang,” he said. – Bernama, November 15, 2022
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