BENTONG: Voters in the Pelangai state constituency have to be cautious with promises made by the opposition in their attempt to canvass for votes in the Oct 7 by-election.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the opposition would not be able to deliver their promises as they were not part of the government.
"Even if the opposition secures victory in Pelangai, they will not be able to execute and fulfil all their promises… do not be easily swayed by their talks.
"Choose a candidate who has solid ties with both the state and federal governments, rather than one who may cause a schism. The Pelangai constituency is already fairly far from the state administrative centre in Kuantan and Putrajaya, so do not pick a candidate who will cause the constituency to become further away.
"If the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate is given the mandate in the by-election, he will become the bridge connecting the people in Pelangai with the state government and federal government. This will certainly allow smooth implementation of programmes or government policies to be carried out in Pelangai," he said.
Khaled, who is also the higher education minister, was met after attending the "Semarak Siswa Madani Pahang" programme at Dataran Simpang Pelangai here yesterday. He was in Pelangai to campaign for BN candidate Datuk Amizar Abu Adam.
Meanwhile, Khaled said despite the presence of Perikatan Nasional (PN) top guns in the final week of campaigning, BN's prospects of winning on Oct 7 would not be diminished.
"We must never be complacent. The unity government's election machinery has to continue working hard till midnight Oct 6 until the campaign ends..... there is no room to slow down.
"Voters must come out to cast their ballots on polling day and I hope the voter turnout will be more than Simpang Jeram (state seat in Johor) and not lower than the Pulai parliamentary by-election," he said.
The Simpang Jeram state seat and Pulai parliamentary constituency by-elections on Sept 9 recorded 60 per cent and 46 per cent voter turnout respectively.
The Pelangai state seat by-election is a three-cornered fight between Amizar, PN's Kasim Samat and independent candidate Haslihelmy DM Zulhasli.