MELAKA: Independent candidate Norhizam Hassan Baktee claims he is inching towards creating another history for Melaka - by being the first Independent to win an election.

       The former DAP assemblyman said he was optimistic of retaining his Pengkalan Batu seat based on the sentiment he had garnered from electorates during his campaign blitz.

       "I am not trying to boast but I can sense the positive vibes of the people’s unwavering support for me.

       "I would probably be the first Independent in the state to be called an assemblyman after Nov 20," he said when interviewed here on Friday (Nov 12).

       Norhizam said he would not be surprised to witness Independents in other constituencies emerging as victors too.

       "First of all, no one in the state anticipated that 22 Independent candidates would contest in the polls except for one English daily which predicted the emergence of this trend.

       "This means, no one can discount the possibility of an Independent candidate wresting one or two seats," he said.

       Norhizam said, as an incumbent, he had diligently served his constituents and the voters were giving him positive feedback during his walkabouts.

       "One more interesting fact was that some of the Independents in the Melaka election are social activists and there is a possibility of winning the hearts of electorates," he added.

       Norhizam was contesting against Mohd Azrudin Md Idris (Perikatan Nasional), Datuk Kalsom Nordin (Barisan Nasional), Muhammad Danish Zainudin (DAP) and Dr Aluwi Sari (Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia).

       Norhizam had won the Pengkalan Batu seat on a DAP ticket in the 14th general election but quit the party in March 2020, leading to the fall of the the Pakatan Harapan-led state government.

       On Oct 4, Norhizam and three other assemblymen withdrew their support for the Perikatan Nasional/Barisan Nasional-led Melaka government, leading to its collapse.

       Initially, there was speculation that Norhizam and the other three assemblymen – Datuk Seri Idris Haron (Sungai Udang), Datuk Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor) and Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) – would join Pakatan.

       However, Pakatan rejected Norhizam and only accepted Idris and Nor Azman while Noor Effandi was no longer keen to re-contest.