HE is running in two seats – which is not unheard of – but in two states.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is contesting a parliamentary seat in Kedah and a state seat in Penang, splitting his time between the two constituencies in his election campaign.

The Kulim-Bandar Baharu and Pantai Jerejak candidate said if he could get three hours of sleep a day, he counted it a luxury.

“For me, that is okay. So far, I have had no problems (travelling between the two states). The two seats are only an hour’s drive apart,” he told Malaysia Decides in a PKR ceramah in Bukit Gedung, Bayan Baru, last night.

Saifuddin said since campaigning began, he starts with walkabouts at 8am and visits to strategic places like popular breakfast spots until noon.

He then attends ceramah and dialogues, goes for more walkabouts in the afternoon, visits night markets at 6pm and speaks at three night ceramah.

“I have told my election machinery team to add more programmes. I can handle 10 a day.”

Saifuddin contested the Kulim-Bandar Baharu parliamentary seat in 2013 but lost to Barisan Naional’s Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir by 1,871 votes. Pantai Jerejak in Penang’s Bayan Baru has been a PKR-held seat since 2008. It was last won by former deputy chief minister I Mohd Rashid Hasnon by 5,354 votes.

For months now, there has been talk that Saifuddin could be the new deputy chief minister I if he won a state seat in Penang, replacing Rashid, who is now contesting the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat in Johor.

Saifuddin, who has been in politics for 27 years, is one of three top PKR leaders contesting both parliamentary and state seats. The others are Mohamed Azmin Ali (Gombak and Bukit Antarabangsa) and Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani and Gurun). All three are PKR’s founding members and its most senior leaders.

“Politics is about team work. You recruit the best brains for your team and you rely on them. It’s about how you manage people. Serving two seats is doable. I can manage,” said the politician, who has promised to champion equal access to education and improve welfare for the poor.

During his ceramah earlier, he said nobody should be denied access to education because they were economically disadvantaged, citing how his bus driver father and illiterate mother made sure all their 12 children received an education.

“Eight of my siblings became teachers. Only my eldest brother and I are in politics. My brother is strategic adviser to the prime minister. I am strategic adviser to the Penang chief minister.” – May 1, 2018.