Big guns to fire up super weekend

TANJUNG MALIM: A week in and the Slim by-election is heating up with the “super weekend”, which will coincide with the school break.

Prominent politicians are set to take the stage at ceramah and meetand-greet sessions during this crucial last weekend before election day on Aug 29 to whip up support for their candidate.

Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz said he would use the time to meet voters who were not around during the rest of the week.

“I will make it a point to personally meet them to convince them to support me,” he said.

Barisan’s campaigners are also calling or reaching out to outstation voters via social media to get them to return to cast their ballots.

The party’s by-election command centre secretariat said several party heavyweights and ministers will campaign with Mohd Zaidi.

It is learnt that Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will hold programmes at several locations in Slim.

Also due to be in town will be Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, who will launch a job fair as the Human Resources Minister.

“I’ll do my best to use the weekend campaign with them (leaders) and engage with the people,” Saravanan said.

During a walkabout at Perak’s Slim River yesterday, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan called on Barisan to focus on more face-to-face campaigning.

“Meeting the people at the morning market is much more effective than having a big ceramah.

‘’It’s always better to get up close and personal with the people and listen to their problems,’’ he said.

Independent candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi said several programmes involving party leaders had been planned for the important weekend.

“But one of our strategies is not to announce things too early, so let’s wait for the surprises,” he said.

According to party sources, leaders from PKR, Amanah and DAP will be visiting Slim this weekend to support Amir Khusyairi, a lawyer.

Dr Mahathir is also expected to appear as the campaign moves into its final leg in a few days’ time.

Independent candidate Dr S. Santharasekaran said he would canvass for support at the Chinese new village besides visiting estates, villages and Felda this weekend.

Estate worker M. Puneswaran, 24, who lives in Ladang Kelapa Bali, said he hoped the new assemblyman would help create more job opportunities for locals.

Villager Osman Mohd Dom, 75, from Pekan Trolak, said flash flooding was a major problem for many traditional villages and needed to be resolved.

Trader Fatimah Ahmad, 56, from Kuala Slim, wants better telecommunication coverage, especially in the rural areas, so that she can keep in touch with her children living in Kuala Lumpur.