PEKAN: Candidates who are making their electoral debut in the 15th General Election (GE15) contesting the Pekan parliamentary seat have one goal in common, which is to expand entrepreneurship and investments in the constituency.

All they want is to boost economic growth in the constituency that comprises four state seats, namely Peramu Jaya, Pulau Manis, Bebar and Chini, despite their political ideologies.

The candidate for Peramu Jaya state seat, Datuk Mohamad Nizar Mohamad Najib, 44, of Barisan Nasional (BN) said there was still land in Pekan that could be developed, adding that he intended to raise investments in the constituency involving the green technology given its position as an automotive hub.

"I am also interested in technology start-ups..if we can encourage small companies to become technology-based companies, it is possible that in the long term they can expand their wings as giant companies.

"That is the change that I hope I can bring (to the constituency) to improve the socioeconomic status of the people here," he said.

Mohamad Nizar is the eldest son of incumbent Pekan MP Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.


As Pekan UMNO Youth chief, he said youth development was very close to his heart adding that he hoped to create a skills programme to help young entrepreneurs in the area.

Other contenders vying for the seat are Abu Talib Muhammad (Perikatan Nasional (PN)-Bersatu), Tugimon Abdul Hamid (Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Amanah), and independent candidate Tengku Datuk Zainul Hisham Tengku Hussin.

Meanwhile, another first-time candidate, Muhammad Khairil Khalid, 33, who is contesting the Pulau Manis state seat said his focus was on solving the flood and water supply problems highlighted by the residents that he met on his campaign trail.

The law graduate said he wanted the matter to be resolved considering the area's location which is only about 30 minutes away from Kuantan town.

Muhammad Khairil who hails from Subang Jaya, Selangor is facing off with incumbent Pulau Manis assemblyman Datuk Khairuddin Mahmud (BN) and Mohammad Rafiq Khan Ahmad Khan (PN-PAS).


Meanwhile, Datuk Mohammad Radhi Abdul Razak (GTA-Pejuang), 60, a contender for the Pekan parliamentary seat said he wished to develop the micro, small and medium enterprises in the constituency given his experience in economics and administration.

"I want to develop entrepreneurship in the Pekan constituency to elevate the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) for the community to get better income. Although Pejuang is new, I have contacts around Pekan," he added.

Fellow debutant, Mohd Fadhil Noor Abdul Karim, 43 of PN said he wanted to ensure that the constituents could remain in the area without having to earn a living elsewhere by increasing job opportunities and raising their education level.

Mohd Fadhil and Mohammad Radhi are being challenged by Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (BN), Mohd Naim Zainal Abidin (PH-PKR), and Tengku Zainul Hisham (independent).

According to the Election Commission (EC), Pekan has a total of 119,443 voters of which 30,113, are voters in the Pulau Manis constituency, Peramu Jaya (41,915), Bebar (21,294) and Chini (26,121).

EC set polling day on Nov 19 and early voting on Nov 15.

-- BERNAMA