Reezal Merican restores dignity by winning in Bertam - KJ

SHAH ALAM - Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican has successfully won the Bertam State Legislative Assembly seat due to his hard work after his defeat in the 15th General Election (PRU15).

Former Umno Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar mentioned that when Reezal Merican lost in the Kepala Batas Parliament in PRU15, the data analysis from the Election Commission indicated that he managed to secure the foundational votes in the Bertam state assembly, compared to those in the Penaga and Permatang Berangan which were also within that Parliamentary constituency.

Subsequent to this, Khairy, who was also the former health minister, revealed that just a day after Reezal Merican's defeat in PRU15, he had targeted the Bertam state assembly seat to contest in the Penang State Election.

"Reezal (Merican) informed me a day after PRU15 that he wanted to contest in the Bertam seat to restore his dignity.

"Since then, every week, he would return to the area to provide services to the Bertam community without fail, starting from the first week after PRU15.

"Therefore, his victory is the result of his hard work and dedication all this while. Moreover, he had an advantage in that state assembly which is also the hometown of Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi)," he said in a talk show hosted by a local media portal today.

In the Penang State Election, Reezal Merican successfully won the Bertam state assembly seat with a majority of 2,321 votes after defeating his challengers from Perikatan Nasional and Bersatu, Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq.

With a total of 23,999 registered voters and a voter turnout rate of 77.44 percent, Reezal Merican managed to secure 10,453 votes, while Khaliq Mehtab only received 8,132 votes.