KUALA BESUT, July 23 — On the last day of campaign in the Kuala Besut by-election, the Besut PAS Youth wing today gave out free petrol to motorcyclists around town in an effort to win the hearts and minds of poverty-stricken Kuala Besut folks.

Dozens of motorcyclists queued up at the Caltex petrol station near Kampung Nail here to take up the offer limited to between noon and 3pm today.

“We don’t really care how much we spend. We want to prove that there is enough money around to lower the price of petrol,” Besut PAS Youth chief Zukri Jusoh, himself a biker, told The Malay Mail Online.

According to Zukri, the giveaway was funded by the national PAS Youth, together with the state and Besut divisions. They planned to fill up around 3,000 motorcycles today.

“With these folks, you cannot really convince them with national issues. Their concerns are simpler, just look at the state of their motorcycles,” said Zukri, gesturing to the women and youths on their beaten underbone bikes, colloquially called “kapchais”.

It is understood that the move is a response to the handouts by ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), who had reportedly spent nearly RM500 million in financial aid and new projects to win over the rural voters, according to PAS.

Several PAS Youth members in green shirts were seen affixing stickers on the motorcycles as they filled them up. The stickers were in support of the party’s candidate, Azlan Yusof, in the by-election, and the Terengganu “R” oil royalty movement.

“We are not particular about it ... Every Kuala Besut folk can join in. There were even some motorcycles which had Umno stickers on them,” said Terengganu PAS Youth chief Mohd Nor Hamzah, the assemblyman for Bukit Payung.

At the rear of the queue, around five youths in blue BN T-shirts and BN flags stuck on their motorcycles were seen waiting for their turn. They took turns posing for PAS’s cameramen, with their thumbs up and wide grins on their faces.

“Unlike the mentri besar, PAS will not exact revenge on those who are not ready to vote for us,” Mohd Nor said, referring to Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said.

On July 17, Ahmad was reported as saying that it is normal for political parties to reward their supporters and not those who are against them. He had also blamed Terengganu voters for being “stingy” with their votes towards BN despite the many aids given by the government.

Today marks the last day of campaigning for PAS and BN, with both sides promising to tackle the debilitating poverty of the locals who are made up of fishermen, farmers and sawmill workers.

BN’s Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman faces Azlan for the Terengganu state seat in the by-election tomorrow which was called following the death of Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar on June 26 from lung cancer.

In Election 2013, Dr Rahman had defeated PAS’s Napisah Ismail with a comfortable 2,434-vote majority. The state seat has 17,679 registered voters, of whom 98 per cent are Malays.