KLANG, July 29 — Barisan Nasional’s Sungai Kandis candidate, Umno’s Datuk Lokman Noor Adam, said he was overwhelmed by and grateful for the public show of support PAS gave him last night ahead of the August 4 by-election.
Speaking to reporters after a PAS rally, Lokman said the Islamist party’s overt backing will increase his chances of winning the Selangor state seat as its members are loyal to their leaders.
“I am overwhelmed by the call to support Umno because I badly needed this.
“PAS practices the concept of ‘walaq’ (loyalty to leaders) so I am sure that the members would listen to their central leadership and give me the votes that I need to beat Pakatan Harapan,” he said after attending a PAS talk at Kota Raja here.
With under a week left to campaign, Lokman said his main focus now is to retain the votes that Umno received on May 9 and score at least 40 per cent of some 7,000 PAS votes.
He also claimed to have support from among PKR grassroots that would help him sway enough to put him within touching distance of an upset victory.
“In order to win, I need to make sure that those who voted for Umno stays with me and I need to persuade other Umno members who may have gone astray in the previous polls to come back to the right path.
“If God wills it, I am expecting 14 to 15 per cent of PKR voters to support me. Couple that with at least 40 per cent of PAS voters, the victory is likely mine,” he said.
This August 4, Lokman will face PKR’s Zawawi Ahmad Mughni and an independent candidate K. Murthy for the Sungai Kandis state seat.
The seat became vacant after the incumbent, PKR’s Shuhaimi Shafie, died on July 2.
