GE15: Young candidates are the focus in Melaka

MELAKA: The emergence of young individuals, in their 30s and early 40s, as candidates contesting parliamentary seats in Melaka, is seen as the political parties' bet to attract 326,585 people aged 18 to 39, who are eligible to vote in the state in the 15th General Election (GE15).

The Hang Tuah Jaya parliamentary constituency, for example, witnesses all four candidates from this age group, involving Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) chief, Adam Adli Abd Halim, 33, from Pakatan Harapan (PH); Hang Tuah Jaya UMNO chief, Datuk Mohd Ridhwan Mohd Ali, 36, from Barisan Nasional (BN); Melaka Pejuang deputy chief, who is also a lawyer, Sheikh Ikhzan Sheikh Salleh, 40, from Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA); and businessman Mohd Azrudin Md Idris, 41, from Perikatan Nasional (PN-Bersatu).

"My duty is to continue the good service done by other colleagues before me. To achieve that, I need to work hard and be active to give the best to the people," said Adam Adli to reporters after the nomination process at Dewan Bistari Ayer Keroh, here today.

Other candidates in the age group are Masjid Tanah UMNO Youth chief, Abdul Hakim Abdul Wahid, 37, (BN) contesting in Masjid Tanah parliamentary seat; UMNO Information chief, Shahril Sufian Hamdan, 37, (BN) and Melaka GTA chief, Muhammad Nazriq Abdul Rahman, 36, both contesting in the Alor Gajah parliamentary seat; and a restaurateur, Mohammad Shahril Mahmood, 40, an Independent candidate in Tangga Batu.

Meanwhile, a Communication and Media Studies senior lecturer from the College of Computing, Informatics and Media of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka branch, Shafezah Abdul Wahab, said that it was quite interesting to see the clash of candidates, especially in relation to the campaign.

She also said that each candidate has their own advantages, based on their different backgrounds and with their own influence on social media.

In the upcoming GE15 in Melaka, only Tangga Batu parliamentary seat is to witness a five-cornered fight, involving BN, PN, PH, GTA and Independent candidates, while five other parliamentary seats, namely Masjid Tanah, Alor Gajah, Hang Tuah Jaya, Kota Melaka and Jasin, will see four-cornered battles.

-- BERNAMA