BUKIT GELUGOR In his first appearance on the Bukit Gelugor campaign trail, Independent candidate Mohamed Nabi Bux Mohd Nabi Sathar urged voters in Taman Tun Sardon not to mimic the Malays of Singapore.

Standing on the back of a small lorry yesterday, the retiree called out: "Don't be like Singaporean Malay."

He did not elaborate, but his message may be tailored for Taman Tun Sardon, a Malay-majority area sandwiched between Chinese-majority Seri Delima and the mixed state seat of Batu Uban.

But the soft-spoken 63-year-old, who is number two on the list of four contestants and whose logo is the hibiscus, was quick to qualify his message.

"I promise not to let any discrimination happen to Muslims and non-Muslims," he said.

Accused of being a BN-sponsored Independent candidate, Nabi Bux insisted that he carries a PAS membership card.

"I am not an Umno member as they keep saying," he said, his lorry draped in green cloth, the colour of PAS. PAS leaders have said the Islamic party has nothing to do with him.

In his five-minute ceramah, Nabi Bux vowed to fight for change and recalled Pakatan Rakyat's unfulfilled promises.

One of them, he said, was the promise to end parking fees when the coalition came into power in Penang in 2008.

"But now, we have to pay parking right up to midnight, for example in Padang Kota. So what happened to their promise?" he asked.

Mohamed Nabi Bux said he would return to Taman Tun Sardon as the campaign continues.

"I will return in a few days’ time," he said, thanking his audience before leaving the Wednesday pasar malam.

Nabi Bux faces a tough fight against DAP's Ramkarpal Singh, who is defending his late father’s seat, Parti Cinta Malaysia's Huan Cheng Guan and independent candidate Abu Backer Sidek Mohammad Azan.

Disappointed with PAS action

After his walkabout, Nabi Bux told journalists that he was not worried about being sacked by PAS for contesting the seat as an independent as he was not using the party's logo, adding that he remains a "staunch PAS supporter".

He urged certain quarters to refrain from labelling him an Umno member as he has provided photos and a certificate as proof that he was with the Kampung Banjar PAS branch in Selangor.

Nabi Bux said Selangor PAS provides members with certificates, unlike the party divisions in Penang, adding that Penang PAS was inactive.

"That's why, maybe God sent me to Penang to bring the PAS people up, to open their eyes. Don't just stay in the house, wake up," he said.

While ‘Hudud in Penang in 2020' is seen as the main theme of his campaign, Nabi Bux said he would reveal more details of his manifesto in a few days.

As he was leaving the market, a senior citizen approached him, saying, "I am a PAS member and I support you 100 percent."

Abdul Aziz Ismail claimed he has been a PAS member for almost 40 years and that he was the founder of the PAS Gelugor branch in 1972 and had gone house-to-house and signed up about 90 members for the party.

"But lately, I am disappointed with PAS action as it has abandoned the cause of Islam," Aziz said, shouting "takbir".

The Bukit Gelugor seat fell vacant after the death of veteran politician Karpal Singh on April 17.

Bukit Gelugor goes to the polls next Sunday.