Alias quits civil service to contest in GE15

KUALA TERENGGANU: Determined to serve as a representative of the people, Alias Ismail, 54, quit his job as a language specialist officer to contest in the 15th general election (GE15).

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Hulu Terengganu parliamentary opted for optional retirement leaving the post he had held for almost nine years at the Hulu Terengganu Education Office.

At the upcoming polls, the former teacher who was also a part-time reporter for a local newspaper will face Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Rosol Wahid from Perikatan Nasional (PN), Datuk Rozi Mamat of Barisan Nasional (BN) and Mohd Khadri Abdullah of Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA).

Alias when met, admitted that his challenge begins today as it would not be easy to win votes for the parliamentary seat which has been UMNO's stronghold.

In addition, the PKR Terengganu information chief said it would be quite a monumental task for him because Rosol and Rozi were known to be influential and have their loyal supporters in the area.

Despite this setback, Alias said he was still willing to sacrifice his career as a civil servant to achieve his goal of serving the people of Hulu Terengganu.

According to him, apart from fighting for the fate of the B40 group, including farmers, in facing the rising cost of living, he would also highlight the issue faced by highly qualified young people in getting suitable employment.

-- BERNAMA