MELAKA: Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee is set to announce his candidacy for the Pengkalan Batu state seat on Monday (Oct 25) and political party he will be contesting for.

       "There are a number of political parties offering me to be their choice of candidate and I will announce it during my press conference on Monday (Oct 25)," he said when interviewed by The Star on Saturday (Oct 23).

       Norhizam said that electorates in the constituency also want him to re-contest in Pengkalan Batu.

       Asked whether he had also been offered by any component parties within Pakatan Harapan, he replied "wait for Monday."

       On Thursday (Oct 21),the Pakatan Harapan leadership said they would not field Norhizam as one of its candidates in the Melaka state election.

       Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was quoted as saying that Pakatan had listened to views about the four former assemblymen who triggered the collapse of the Melaka state government, and said that the people's interests were more important than that of an individual.

       Anwar said the Pakatan presidential council had decided that Norhizam would not be a candidate in the Melaka state election.

       To this, Norhizam said only DAP, which was part of Pakatan's coalition, was unhappy about his candidacy.

       "I don’t want to talk much or hit out at anybody for now, but DAP thinks they are popular, so let it be.

       "I will announce my candidacy in the next 48 hours, but I am not contesting as an independent," he said.

       Norhizam said his electorate had been encouraging him to be the candidate, despite the recent decision by Pakatan.

       "Please go around and ask my voters whether I have served them well since 2018.

       "I am not blowing my own trumpet, please find out for yourself if the local voters want me or not," he said.

       Norhizam said Pengkalan Batu was very sentimental to him as he grew up in the constituency.

       "Locals would have despised me if I had to serve and only outsiders were not keen on me contesting.

       "I was an independent assemblyman when I exited the Barisan Nasional/Perikatan Nasional-led state government on Oct 4 and no one can claim I betrayed a particular party for the second time," he said.

       Norhizam was formerly an Umno member before joining DAP in 2006 and he was part of the Pakatan-led state government in Melaka in 2018.

       Norhizam was also the former Melaka DAP deputy chairman until his defection to Perikatan in March 2020.

       However, in March 2020, the Melaka Pakatan state government was toppled following the defection of Norhizam and Rembia assemblyman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis and it was replaced by a Perikatan state government led by Umno's Datuk Seri Sulaiman Ali.

       Norhizam joined the Perikatan Nasional government when it came to power in March 2020.

       More recently, Norhizam was also involved in a movement led by Idris, who led two other assemblymen - Nor Azman and Noor Effandi, to topple the Perikatan-led Melaka state government.

       The Election Commission has set polling for the Melaka election on Nov 20.