AYER KUNING POLLS: BN TARGETS OVER 18,000 VOTES

TAPAH, April 7 (Bernama) — More than 18,000 votes are expected to be cast in favour of the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the upcoming Ayer Kuning by-election, following strong support from the local community.

Perak Menteri Besar and state BN chairman Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said that this is based on the record from the 15th General Election, where the BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates together received more than 15,000 votes from the voters of the Ayer Kuning state constituency.

“If all of the more than 9,000 voters who voted for BN, and over 6,000 voters who voted for PH in the last GE (General Election), support the BN candidate, we can secure over 15,000 votes.

“With the spirit and efforts from our partners (BN and PH), we aim to achieve over 18,000 votes for the BN candidate,” he said in his speech at the launch of the election campaign machinery, officiated by BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi here today.

Tapah UMNO secretary Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir, was today named as the BN candidate for the Ayer Kuning by-election.

Ayer Kuning, which comes under the Tapah parliamentary constituency,  has 31,897 registered voters, consisting of 31,315 ordinary voters and 582 police personnel and their spouses.

Polling is on April 26, with the nomination  on April 12 and early voting on April 22.

Meanwhile, the Amanah party machinery is prepared to assist in the campaign once the nomination process is completed, to ensure victory for Mohamad Yusri.

Amanah Vice-President and by-election director for the party, Datuk Dr Hatta Ramli said Amanah has been assigned responsibilities at five  polling districts (PDM) to help ensure that the Ayer Kuning seat remains under BN’s control.

“These five PDMs are Tanjung Keramat, Ayer Kuning, Sungai Kroh, Ayer Kuning Selatan and Batu Tiga, and the machinery will operate alongside the PH and BN campaign teams.

“Amanah will work tirelessly to campaign, ensuring that the votes previously cast for PH during the last general election are combined with BN votes to secure victory for the BN candidate representing the Unity Government,” he said at a press conference today.

-- BERNAMA