PETALING JAYA: “YB Hulk” Norhizam Hassan Baktee’s bid to return to the Pengkalan Batu state seat appears uncertain, with Bersatu indicating that the constituency is not currently among the party’s targets for the upcoming Melaka state election.
Melaka Bersatu information chief Hishamuddin Abdul Karim said the party had yet to finalise the candidates and seats it would contest.
“Bersatu has yet to finalise its decisions regarding the Melaka state election, including the candidates and seats. I understand that Pengkalan Batu is not on Bersatu’s list,” he told FMT.
Hishamuddin also said Norhizam’s stated intention to contest again appeared to be his personal view and did not reflect the party’s official position.
Norhizam was reported yesterday as saying he intended to contest in the Melaka election and wanted to continue serving the people of Pengkalan Batu, claiming that residents still needed his services.
The former Pengkalan Batu assemblyman, who is now Hang Tuah Jaya Bersatu deputy chief, also claimed that his name had already been included in the list of potential candidates, although the seat he would contest had yet to be determined.
Norhizam was elected as the Pengkalan Batu assemblyman under the DAP banner in the 2018 state election. He left the party in 2020 and became an independent assemblyman supporting the Umno-led state government.
He was among four assemblymen who withdrew their support for then chief minister Sulaiman Ali, triggering the 2021 Melaka state election.
Norhizam subsequently contested to retain Pengkalan Batu as an independent but lost to Barisan Nasional’s Kalsom Noordin by 131 votes in a five-cornered contest.
Asked whether he would contest in the upcoming election, Hishamuddin said the decision would be left to the party leadership.
“As a party man, I respect the decision of the president and the party. I do not see contesting in an election as a personal agenda.
“Do not be too eager to seek positions or become a candidate. The party’s survival and victory are far more important,” he said.
-FMT
