Reezal aspires to continue Pak Lah’s legacy

KEPALA BATAS: Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican says he wants to carry on the legacy of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is close to the hearts of the people in Bertam.

The Barisan Nasional candidate for the Bertam state seat said he would remain “colour blind” when it comes to helping the people and in all of his planning to develop the constituency.

“When it comes to helping the people, I am colour blind. This is what Pak Lah (Abdullah Badawi) always taught me.

“And in the area, I will continue what Pak Lah has done before,” he told reporters in an interview Monday (July 31).

Reezal, who is also an Umno supreme council member, will be in a straight fight against Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq of Perikatan Nasional for the Bertam seat in the state polls.

This will be the first time that the former Cabinet minister will be contesting in the state seat after failing to defend his Kepala Batas parliamentary seat in the last general election.

The Bertam state seat, which falls under the Kepala Batas parliamentary constituency, which was previously held by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had been a safe seat for Barisan in the last five decades.

Reezal also promised that he will make Bertam and the area a highly livable area and attract outsiders to come and stay here.

He cited several development projects such as a youth centre and implementing housing projects not only for M40 income earners but also those from in the B40 income groups as well as the T20 earners when he was holding the parliamentary seat.

“If we compare Bertam 30 years ago and now, it is totally different and I feel that I have been given a second chance to carry on Pak Lah’s legacy,” he said.

Reezal also stressed the importance of having a credible partner and representative from Umno within the Penang state government.

“This will be the chance to give Umno a new struggle for the Penang people under the state government,” he said.

Although he admitted the importance of engaging the youth and first-time voters on social media, at the same time he will continue to engage on a one-to-one basis to reach as many voters as possible during the campaign period.

“For those in the older age groups, they prefer face-to-face interactions and we will do this too. So it must be a hybrid approach and a balanced one,” he said.