Barisan Nasional will not be contesting in the Penanti by-election on May 31, announced Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today.

najib tun razak The decision was made following a BN supreme council meeting chaired by Najib this afternoon.

The decision was not a major surprise as Najib had previously indicated that the ruling coalition was not interested in 'wasting public funds' by taking part in the by-election.

The seat fell vacant following the resignation of the former Penang Deputy Chief Minister (I), PKR's Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin. PKR has already named Mansor Othman as its candidate.

Several independents are expected to contest for the seat. Nomination day is on May 23.

'Our focus is on public service'

penanti state seat penang 200409 Talking to reporters after a two-hour meeting, Najib said the Penanti seat did not become vacant as necessitated by law but was instead due to PKR wanting to resolve its internal problems.

The vacancy is also because of a political game by the opposition, he added.

"BN's focus is on serving the people and reviving the nation's economy. Thus, we decided not to field a candidate," he said.

Najib said that the decision not to contest was unanimous and he was made to understand that this was not the first time that BN would not be contesting in a by-election, but did not elaborate.

On possible disappointment by BN supporters, Najib said that they would understand that the party was avoiding being part of an opposition gimmick and that the party’s interest was above all else.

'We don't want to be drawn into their gimmick'

“We don’t dance to (the opposition’s) tune… We don’t want to be drawn into their gimmick. If not, three months down the line, they will force another by-election elsewhere,” he said.

When asked if the 'no-contest' decision was akin to betraying the voters, Najib said: "We will still continue to serve the constituents of Penanti and Permatang Pauh through our own channels".

He also denied that BN backed out of the Penanti by-election over fear of losing.

“In any event, we will be facing the rakyat in the upcoming general election,” he said.

Penanti is a state seat under the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat held by PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim.