NIBONG TEBAL, June 23 — Focusing on local community issues, Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Sungai Bakap state by-election Joohari Ariffin will continue to draw closer to the voters and work hard to make inroads into the "grey area”.

Joohari said he would focus on issues related to water, infrastructure and roads to try and win back the Sungai Bakap state seat which it lost to PAS in the 2023 state election.

While admitting to facing the pressure of trying to maintain the unity government’s winning momentum from the Kuala Kubu Baru state by-election, the former teacher though is confident that it is not an impossible mission as Sungai Bakap can be described as a grey area since PAS only won the seat by a 1,563-vote majority in the state election last August.

"The status quo is different here (Sungai Bakap)... we are trying to win at a place where we previously lost. It’s very stressful and that’s why we have to work hard.

"However, it is not impossible because political analysts consider the 1,563-vote majority as a ‘grey area’, not something that’s black and white, so we must ensure we make inroads and win over the voters,” he told a get-together with the media session at the Sungai Bakap National Information Dissemination Centre (NaDi) today.

Joohari, the former director of Institut Aminuddin Baki (Northern Branch), said he will also focus on the Puteri Gunong District Voting Centre (PDM), which has 12,417 voters out of the 39,279 total.

He also felt that the Sungai Bakap state seat, which PH held for three terms from 2008, fell into the hands of PAS in 2023 due to voter sentiment and perception.

As such, "local boy” Joohari is determined to draw closer to the voters at the grassroots level to rebuild their trust in the unity government.

Although he is already 60, he said it would not be a problem to draw closer to the younger voters, especially the first-time voters, because many of his students were young people.

The holder of a PhD in Educational Management and Leadership from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) also hopes that the Sungai Bakap by-election could be used as a model or benchmark for future by-elections by highlighting a campaign that is ethical and of high value, thus proving the people’s acceptance of the unity government should it win on July 6.

Joohari will be challenged by Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Abidin Ismail, who is also the Nibong Tebal PAS vice-chief, in a straight fight in the Sungai Bakap state by-election on July 6.

The Sungai Bakap seat, with 39,279 voters comprising 39,222 ordinary voters and 57 police officers, fell vacant following the death of its incumbent Nor Zamri from PAS on May 24 due to stomach inflammation. — Bernama