DAY 5 | Azmin to return as S'gor MB if PN wins, says polls candidate

DAY 5 | It’s day five of campaigning for the six state elections.

Malaysiakini reports live from the ground.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The return of Azmin Ali

• Zahid says more would’ve left Umno if he kept Annuar

• PN man claims increased Chinese support

• Resident confronts S’gor MB over incinerator plans

• Annuar claims Umno exodus on Friday

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This concludes our live blog for the fifth day of the state polls campaign.

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Azmin will return as MB if PN wins, says Gombak Setia candidate

11.20pm: Gombak Setia, Selangor - Former Selangor menteri besar Azmin Ali will return to helm the state administration if Perikatan Nasional (PN) wins the state election.

This is according to PN’s candidate for Gombak Setia Hilman Idham in his ceramah in front of SK Gombak Setia.

“Today, Azmin is the candidate for Hulu Kelang and, Insya-Allah, he will win and return to Shah Alam as the menteri besar.

“Same goes for PAS’ Ahmad Yunus Hairi, who used to be a state exco member. He is now defending his Sijangkang seat and, Insya-Allah, he will win and return to Shah Alam too,” he tells the crowd of about 40 people.

Meanwhile, Azmin in a separate ceramah televised live on TikTok promises to Selangor people that he will bring back many initiatives and incentives which were implemented when he was the menteri besar.

These include exempting quit rent for low-cost houses and business license fees for small operators, RM2,500 cash contribution to the family of the deceased, and free water for the first 20m³ for residential premises.

He tells the ceramah in Hulu Kelang that Selangor PN will reveal their manifesto this Friday.

Zahid claims more would’ve left Umno if he retained Annuar

11.15pm: Kajang, Selangor - In a rebuttal against Annuar Musa, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reportedly tells a press conference that even more Umno members would have left the party if he did not sack Annuar as member and secretary-general last December.

According to Berita Harian, Zahid says 147 Umno division chiefs had implored him to dismiss Annuar and others have accused him of stealing (sakau), but he was initially reluctant to do so to avoid embarrassing him.

Nevertheless, Annuar continued to cause trouble for Umno and BN.

“So, what I did was, of course, take the necessary political action,” he was quoted as saying.

Zahid reportedly said this when reporters asked to comment on Annuar’s claim last night that there would be an exodus of Umno members on Friday.

He said he will be hosting the event at his home in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, which will be witnessed by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Kelantan MB post spat false, claims PN

7.20pm: Kelantan - There is no squabble between caretaker Kelantan menteri besar Ahmad Yakob and his deputy Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, said the state Perikatan Nasional secretary Wan Roslan Wan Hamat.

He was commenting on rumours that the two are at loggerheads over who would be the next menteri besar.

“This is completely false. Instead of attacking people’s personal lives, we prefer to explain to voters about the programmes in our manifesto,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

“Kelantan people have a high degree of education and they can tell fact from fiction,” he added.

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PN associate: We have Chinese backing in Gombak Setia

7pm: Gombak Setia, Selangor - A local Chinese community leader claims that Chinese voters in Gombak Setia will swing their support to Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the state polls due to the Zahid factor.

Dave Lee, who is a Bersatu associate member, tells Malaysiakini that the community allegedly dislikes Pakatan Harapan-BN’s decision to field Umno’s Megat Zulkarnain Omardin in Gombak Setia as he is from BN and works as Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s political secretary.

“In GE15, Chinese voters supported Harapan as we didn’t want PN in power because of PAS.

“But this time, the candidate (representing unity government) is from BN, and the Chinese do not like BN, especially because of the Zahid factor,” he claims.

Earlier, Lee had introduced PN’s candidate for Gombak Setia, Hilman Idham, to several Chinese community leaders for a chat.

Hilman also claims that the Chinese will swing their support to PN as many have raised their grouses over issues with the Harapan state administration.

Surprise reinforcement for Gerakan chief

5:15pm: After being snubbed by PAS in Tasek Gelugor last night, Gerakan president Dominic Lau gets support from former PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin.

According to a clip uploaded by Sin Chew Daily on Facebook, Zuraida is seen accompanying Lau to visit a wet market this morning.

In the video, Zuraida greets the hawkers and market-goers in Mandarin.

However, the response was lukewarm.

At one point, Zuraida asks the hawkers "ni hao ma?” (are you good?), to which one of the hawkers can be heard replying "bu hao" (not good).

The video ends with Zuraida, Lau, and state Gerakan chief Oh Tong Keong saying "PN best" and "yi ge ji hui “ (one chance).

Harapan reports flag tampering to police

4.40pm: Gurun, Kedah - Gurun Pakatan Harapan lodges a police report over some individuals allegedly taking off Harapan flags in Taman Lambaian, Guar Chempedak.

Its Gurun candidate Firdaus Johari says the incident roughly took place around 2am today.

“The individuals took around five to six flags and a banner with the Harapan logo on it,” he adds.

The report was lodged at the Gurun district police station.

Shahrizat: Hard for Umno to work with DAP, but no choice

2:30pm: Sungai Panjang, Selangor - Umno supreme council member Shahrizat Abdul Jalil tells supporters she knows how difficult it is to cooperate with their old enemy, especially DAP.

In a speech to teachers of the Sungai Besar Kemas kindergarten, she encourages the crowd to adapt to the current political scene.

"I am from Penang island, I know how hard it is to live with and to engage politically with parties, for instance, DAP, now they are our friends. Not easy, but we don't have other options," she says.

Nevertheless, she admits that the unity government brought unexpected outcomes, namely for DAP to stand together with Umno.

As an example, she points to how Gerakan used to be "an opposition party that is harder to tolerate than DAP", but Gerakan became better when they joined BN after 1969.

BN candidate slams PAS man’s 'support Umno, go to hell' remark

1.20pm: A Penang BN candidate for the upcoming state election has slammed the claim by a PAS member that voters would end up in hell if they attended any feasts organised by Umno.

According to Shaik Hussein Mydin, the BN candidate for the Sungai Dua state seat in Penang, he was informed about the "extreme" remark by locals who attended one of its events in the constituency recently.

"I did not cook for the feast, the villagers did. Apparently, an 'ustaz' from PAS said that whoever ate at the feast organised by my side will go to hell. This makes me, and even the villagers, angry.

"But I told the locals, we’ll organise an even bigger feast soon and feed everyone," Shaik Hussein said in his speech during BN's manifesto launching and candidates' introduction event in Butterworth, last night.

Public doesn’t care about ‘traitor’ label, says Afif

1pm: Taman Medan, Selangor – Perikatan Nasional’s candidate for Taman Medan, Dr Afif Bahardin believes that the traitor label given to him by Pakatan Harapan supporters would not have much impact on his chance to win in the PKR safe deposit.

Speaking at a press conference, he claims that the public does not care about the label, which was given to him and several others who defected from PKR before joining Bersatu in 2020.

Instead, he says, the decision by Harapan to work with BN post-15th general election had placed the coalition on the same level with his group of defectors.

"We are even better because we do not work with (Umno president Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi) and appoint him as a deputy prime minister.

"The only reason why they think we did something wrong was because we didn't support (PKR president) Anwar (Ibrahim), which I never regretted," he says.

Afif urges Faiz to help him campaign

12.55pm: Taman Medan, Selangor - Perikatan Nasional candidate for Taman Medan Dr Afif Bahardin refuses to respond directly to criticism from fellow Bersatu leader Muhammad Faiz Na'aman that many party candidates in the Selangor polls did not deserve the spot as they were already rejected by voters in the last general election.

Speaking at a press conference, Afif says he just wants to focus on garnering support from the people of Taman Medan to ensure PN’s victory, and he welcomes Faiz to help his campaign.

"Other than that, it doesn't matter. What matters now, the 11 days I have, I need to bring voters as much as I can to support PN.

"Faiz is a friend. We have talked before, and I'm more than happy for him to help me in Taman Medan.

"He has his opinion. Others also have their opinions. But once the party makes its decision, the focus is about the election," he adds.

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Guan Eng wants Aug 12 to be a public holiday in Penang

12.50pm: Penang - DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng urges Penang to make the Aug 12 polling day a public holiday to encourage voters to head to the ballot box.

According to China Press, the Air Putih candidate made the call during last night's launch of the Pakatan Harapan and BN manifesto.

"I worry that the turnout rate will be affected, hence I request the caretaker chief minister to announce a special holiday for everyone to come out to vote."

In response, Penang caretaker chief minister Chow Kon Yeow says he will make a decision later, Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported. Chow says this while campaigning in Padang Kota today.

Before Lim made the request, Chow had initially said the state government did not plan to announce the holiday during a press conference yesterday afternoon.

Resident confronts Amirudin over incinerator plans

12.30pm: A Selangor resident confronts caretaker menteri besar Amirudin Shari about a proposed incinerator site in Batu Arang, which will be near SMK Bandar Tasik Puteri.

The resident known as Esther, raises concerns that the students at the school will be inhaling poisonous smoke from the incinerator if the proposed site is approved, and as such, she hopes the project will be cancelled.

Amirudin says the project will undergo assessments first, including an environmental impact assessment, before the state government makes any decisions on it.

Esther thanks him while fellow residents hold up a banner saying they do not want the incinerator.

Aminuddin unperturbed by PN's 'winning 19 seats' remark

10.45am: Negeri Sembilan caretaker menteri besar Aminuddin Harun is not perturbed by a Perikatan Nasional leader’s claim that the coalition would win 19 seats in the state polls.

"They (PN) have been making the same statements all over on many occasions... 19 seats, 21 seats, the entire seats in the state (assembly).

"They can say whatever they want. That is their right to express their views on the matter," New Straits Times quotes the state Pakatan Harapan chairperson as saying on the campaign trail last night.

Aminuddin said Harapan will continue to work hard to win the polls, in order to serve the people.

He was commenting on a remark by Bersatu supreme council member Eddin Syazlee Shith recently that PN could win 19 of the total 36 seats in the state legislative assembly.

Bersatu’s Sg Air Tawar candidacy issue resolved - Hamzah

10.30am: Sungai Air Tawar, Sabak Bernam – The internal contention surrounding the choice of Bersatu’s candidate for Sungai Air Tawar, Mohamad Zaidi Selamat, has been resolved, says the party secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin.

“Such issues are normal especially in these few days (of the election) and the problems (raised by Sabak Bernam Bersatu about) the candidate for this state seat have been fully resolved,” Hamzah says, as reported by Sinar Harian.

Choosing Zaidi as a candidate is a decision by the party’s top leadership, Hamzah adds, and as such, the focus should be on ensuring their candidates will win in this election.

“If (Sabak Bernam Bersatu) division chief (Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh) and everyone can support, including PAS, we are confident that Perikatan Nasional will win in Selangor,” he says.

The division previously rejected Zaidi as the Sungai Air Tawar candidate because he was seen to be parachuted into the constituency.

Umno exodus on Friday, Annuar claims

9.25am: Former Ketereh MP Annuar Musa has claimed that there will be an exodus from Umno this coming Friday.

The Muafakat Nasional chairperson said he will play host to the event at his home in Kota Bharu, Kelantan on Aug 4, witnessed by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

According to Annuar, the exodus will not only involve leaders and members from the Ketereh parliamentary division, but other areas as well.

"People are leaving Umno en masse because they are no longer confident with the party's struggles, and its leadership under Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"Umno is undergoing a severe crisis. There could be closures of Umno divisions (in Kelantan) that follow," he told a ceramah in Kota Bharu last night.

The former minister further claimed that the people of Kelantan are standing solid behind Perikatan Nasional, particularly PAS.

Harapan-BN’s N Sembilan manifesto still in the works

8am: Seremban, Negeri Sembilan - While Pakatan Harapan and BN have jointly launched their election manifestos for Penang and Selangor, the one for Negeri Sembilan is still in the works.

Bernama reports the state’s Harapan chief Aminuddin Harun told reporters yesterday that the document is expected to be finalised in a week.

“The draft of the manifesto is in the final stage. Both Harapan and BN have put forward drafts of the manifesto respectively and we want to look at it together to see the similarities. It must be said that this is the first time Harapan and BN have joined hands for the state election.

“In fact, both coalitions are ready and the manifesto must be implemented. The manifesto was not drafted to attract voters and later not carried out the manifesto. Most important is to implement the manifesto to add value to the people,” the report quotes him as saying.

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