Rafie Abd Malek left PKR for PAS when he was not fielded in the 2023 election.SEREMBAN: Ampangan candidate Rafie Abd Malek is confident of winning voter support despite switching from PKR to PAS, saying voters are capable of judging him based on his track record.Rafie, who won the Ampangan seat on a Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket in 2018, is seeking to reclaim it under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner in the Aug 1 election. He is in a three-cornered contest against PH’s Nazri Kassim, and Bersatu’s Noor’Azah Harun.The former Negeri Sembilan executive councillor said voters could compare his performance as Ampangan assemblyman during the 2018–2023 term with that of others, including Nazri.“They can assess my performance as a state executive councillor, and they can also compare my record with that of others who had been elected to serve in Ampangan previously,” he told FMT.“I believe voters are wise and mature enough to decide who is the best person to represent them,” he added.Asked what gave him an edge over Nazri, Rafie pointed to his longstanding ties with the constituency, where he said he has been active since 1999.Explaining his decision to leave PKR to join PAS, Rafie said he no longer believed the party could deliver on its promises.“I actually feel more comfortable with PAS because of its principles. I was a senior PKR leader and one of those involved in the founding of the party.“Unfortunately, we witnessed PKR’s failures firsthand.
Promises were not fulfilled, and the people’s problems remained unresolved. To me, that is a clear failure.“So why should we remain with a troubled party? I needed to choose a platform that is more suitable and better for the state and the country,” he said.If BN and PN succeed in forming the state government, Rafie said, his priority would be to pursue policies focused on economic development and tackling the rising cost of living.Ampangan is one of Negeri Sembilan’s seats that have alternately been won by BN and PH with the narrowest of margins.
PH retained the seat in the 2023 state election when Tengku Zamrah Tengku Sulaiman defeated her closest rival by just 329 votes.Nazri has expressed confidence that PH can retain the constituency, describing the contest against Rafie as “normal” political competition and crediting the incumbent’s service record for the coalition’s optimism.
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