BN names ustaz as Ayer Kuning candidate

Summary

• BN has named Yusri Bakir, a doctorate holder in Islamic education and Tapah Umno secretary, as its candidate for the Ayer Kuning by-election.

• The by-election, set for April 26, follows the death of incumbent Ishsam Shahruddin.

BN has named Tapah Umno division secretary Yusri Bakir, who is also an ustaz, as its candidate for the upcoming Ayer Kuning state by-election.

Perak BN chairperson and Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad made the announcement at an event in Tapah today.

According to his biodata, Yusri holds a doctorate in Islamic education from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, and heads the Islamic and Moral Education Department at the teacher’s college in Ipoh.

He is also the chairperson of an NGO for children’s education in Tapah.

Also present at the announcement were Umno president and BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, MCA president Wee Ka Siong, and MIC deputy president M Saravanan.

Leaders from other government component parties were also in attendance, including Amanah president Mohamad Sabu as well as PKR leaders Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Nurul Izzah Anwar.

BN studied background before choosing

Later, when launching the BN machinery’s command centre at Kampung Haji Tahir, Temoh, Zahid highlighted Yusri’s religious credentials and his choice of a spouse when speaking to reporters.

“Alhamdulillah, Yusri has been selected and God willing this time he is someone with a religious background and good qualifications. In addition, I was informed that his wife is of Chinese descent.

“So hopefully it will be an advantage for him and I mentioned in my speech that the BN and Pakatan Harapan machinery will join hands to mobilise their respective machinery to ensure Yusri win the by-election,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

He said Umno studied the backgrounds of six potential candidates before choosing Yusri as the BN candidate.

The by-election was called following the death of incumbent Ishsam Shahruddin, 59, on Feb 22. He was also the Tapah Umno division chief.

In the 15th general election, Ishsam won Ayer Kuning with a majority of 2,213 votes in a five-cornered fight.

The Election Commission has set April 12 as nomination day, while polling will take place on April 26. Early voting is scheduled for April 22.

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