DAY 9 | The Sungai Bakap by-election campaign continues for its ninth day today.
Pakatan Harapan candidate Joohari Ariffin is up against Perikatan Nasional’s Abidin Ismail in a straight fight.
Polling day is on July 6.
We will report from time to time from the ground.
Sanusi, Akmal lauds mature politics after friendly football match
7.30pm: Perkatra Indah, Nibong Tebal - As the friendly football match concludes, both main participants including Perikatan Nasional election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and PKR strategy director Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir are happy about the mature politics shown by the two rivals.
Both leaders say that such a harmonious election campaign should be celebrated that can end any provocative elements that are usually synonymous with Malaysian politics.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Pakatan Harapan supporter Nur Aishah Zainol says that this is the opportunity for the voters to see the casual side of politicians who usually put on a professional appearance.
Echoing his Harapan counterpart, PN supporter Halim Chear also said that this is the chance for Sungai Bakap constituents to casually interact with the politicians.
Sanusi: We lost the match but we won in attendance
6.30pm: Perkatra Indah, Nibong Tebal - Perikatan Nasional election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor says his coalition has won the friendly football match against Pakatan Harapan, judging by supporters’ attendance.
“If we can see there’s only a small portion of Harapan supporters, but around the pitch was filled with PN supporters,” he says, claiming that it describes the sentiment in the Sungai Bakap by-election.
PKR strategy director Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir’s team won the match 3-2 against Sanusi’s team.
Akmal’s team includes former national player Norshahrul Idhlan Talha, Puskas Award winner Faiz Subri, and assistant coach of the Penang squad, Manzoo Azwira.
The PN squad, led by Sanusi, features former national player Baddrol Bakhtiar - who is also the Gurun assemblyperson - and Radhi Mat Din, the assemblyperson for Alor Mengkudu.
Friendly match now a three-way event
5pm: Perkatra Indah, Nibong Tebal - The friendly football match between Perikatan Nasional election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s team against PKR strategic director Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir’s team has kicked off.
However, due to Sanusi previously not confirming whether he will join the exhibition match, three teams are participating in the friendly match.
Besides Sanusi and Akmal’s teams, Pakatan Harapan’s candidate for the by-election Joohari Ariffin has assembled a team consisting of Sungai Bakap youth.
Harapan-PN football friendly is on
10am: Sungai Bakap, Nibong Tebal - The much-awaited friendly football match between Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional in Sungai Bakap is set to take place at 5pm today.
PN election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor accepts PKR strategy director Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir’s challenge to a game on the pitch in an effort to entice younger voters to be part of the election campaign.
Sanusi, who is Kedah menteri besar, has uploaded a poster of the football match on his Facebook page with the caption “challenge accepted”.
Joohari talks development plans
9am: Pakatan Harapan candidate Joohari Ariffin outlines his development plans to the people of Sungai Bakap in a talk in Kampung Padang Lalang, Simpang Ampat, last night.
He says he is determined to ensure that the area’s public facilities are good and meet the needs of the residents through infrastructure initiatives.
These include water and traffic infrastructure projects such as the Sungai Kerian water treatment plant, the Perak-Penang water project, and the construction of a road connection in Bandar Tasek Mutiara.
In addition, the Haparan-BN candidate wants maternity ward facilities and geriatric specialist treatment to be provided at Sungai Bakap Hospital. He also hopes to make the Sungai Bakap area a centre for the production of halal microproducts.
Joohari is also determined to increase the participation of female entrepreneurs in Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and establish an activity centre for the elderly.
He also talks up the idea of free public tuition for SPM students and developing science, mathematics, engineering and technology (Stem), Malaysian technical and vocational training (TVET) and artificial intelligence (AI) programmes through the National Information Dissemination Centre (Nadi) and Digital Penang. - Mkini
