HALIZA UNFAZED BY ATTACKS
BN candidate for Batu Pahat says allegations against her long settled
BARISAN Nasional’s candidate for the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat, Haliza Abdullah, is not afraid of personal attacks against her, saying they made her more determined to wrest the seat from the opposition.
Haliza, 51, from Kampung Merdeka near here, said she would be using a cultured approach to get close to voters.
This, she added, did not mean she would be soft, but instead be respectful of the people in the constituency.
She said her rivals for the seat were PKR candidate and former deputy Penang chief minister Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon and Pas Syura Council chief Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed.
“As the Batu Pahat Wanita Umno head, I have been using the cultured approach for quite some time, and it has been well accepted by the grassroots and people in the constituency.
“We meet those from all walks of life every day, and this cultured approach is capable of tearing down walls and softening those with a tough stance.
“I will never take the aggressive approach and carry out personal attacks on others,” she said.
On the attacks against her on “morality issues”, Haliza, who is a law graduate from International Islamic University Malaysia, said what happened in 2011 had been settled and was no longer an issue.
“The accusations were used as a weapon against me in 2013, when I defended my post. Despite that, I won, because Wanita Umno Batu Pahat knew what happened.
“It would have been impossible for me to escape vetting if I was guilty and involved in immoral issues.”
Haliza thanked Batu Pahat Umno division chief Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi for not contesting as an independent candidate in Batu Pahat, and hoped they could cooperate and plan strategies to wrest the seat from the opposition.