MELAKA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Pengkalan Batu state constituency, Muhamad Danish Zainudin wants to empower the young people, especially school students, through the "Adik Angkat" foster programme, if he wins the seat.

The 25-year-old candidate said he would create suitable platforms to assist students with potentials so that they could succeed in life and later look after their parents and contribute to the society.

He told a press conference at the launch of his election manifesto here today that his focus would also be on the issue of poverty and food supply problems often faced by the underprivileged, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country.

Muhamad Danish, who is Melaka DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) secretary said he also planned to set up a community farm to prevent shortage of food supply, as faced by some families during the COVID-19 pandemic, if given the mandate.

"We will find a suitable location to plant vegetables and rear fish. In this way, there will also be food, either for own consumption or to be sold," he added.

Muhamad Danish, who is also facing incumbent Pengkalan Batu assemblyman Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee in the five-cornered fight for the seat, said he would also hold weekly meetings with the constituents for them to voice their problems, if elected.

The other three contenders are Datuk Kalsom Noordin (Barisan Nasional), Mohd Azrudin Md Idris (Perikatan Nasional) and Dr Mohd Aluwi Sari (Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia).

Norhizam won the seat in the 14th General Election on PKR ticket with a majority of 2,756 votes, defeating Chua Lian Chye of Barisan Nasional and Ramli Dalip (PAS).

The Election Commission has set Nov 20 as polling day for the Melaka state election, with early voting on Nov 16.

The election was called following the dissolution of the state assembly on Oct 4 after four state assemblymen withdrew support for the Chief Minister.

Melaka has 28 state seats with a total of 495,195 registered voters.

-- BERNAMA