S'WAK POLLS Former Selangor menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim’s presence in Bintulu to help PAS candidate Zharudin Narudin for the seat of Samalaju has added heat to the campaign in the Sarawak state election.

Khalid met with the people at Bintulu’s Tamu market on Monday morning, together with members of the PAS election machinery.

Sarawak PAS on its Facebook page published pictures of Khalid in a white baju Melayu and a songkok, mingling with the people there.

The Samalaju state seat is seeing a four-cornered tussle among Zharudin, BN’s Majang Renggie, DAP’s Baba Emperan and independent candidate Michael Lias.

Samalaju is among the 11 newest seats carved out in the recent redelineation exercise.

Asked to comment on Khalid’s presence, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said any independent politician was free to support any party contesting in the election.

“He (Khalid) is an independent politician and he has the right to support any party. I was told that he’s here campaigning with the PAS candidate,” Hadi told reporters at the party headquarters in Kuching last night.

Asked whether Khalid would join PAS, he said: “You have to ask him on that, he has yet to apply (for membership).”