Unpertubed by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's defamation suit against him, Umno-linked blogger Papagomo has announced that he will contest as an independent candidate in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency.

azlan After saying on his Twitter webpage that he will hold a press conference today at Kuala Lumpur, the blogger, whose real name is Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris ( left ), did not turn up.

His candidacy was announced by his representative, Mohamad Rafi Awang Kechik, who introduced himself as the president of a little-known group dubbed Nadi Rakyat Malaysia.

Mohamad Rafi, who held the press conference at the Federal Territories Election Commission office after buying a nomination form for Papagomo, said the blogger plans to expose all of Anwar's alleged wrongdoings to the people of Permatang Pauh.

“Why Papagomo need to contest against Anwar in this GE13? Because this is the best way to expose who is Anwar [sic] ,”  Papagomo posted on Twitter later in the day.

Anwar had confirmed last Friday that he would defend Permatang Pauh in the coming general election.

He has filed a RM100 million defamation suit against Papagomo after the latter failed to apologise and retract a series of lewd photographs.

NONE The blogger had claimed that the photographs were screenshots from a video depicting Anwar as being intimate with another male.

Speculation is high that Umno is planning to field locally-born Telekom Malaysia general manager Dr Mazlan Ismail in Permatang Pauh.

Although Penang Umno liaison chief Zainal Abidin Osman ( right )  declined to confirm this, he was confident that Mazlan would have a good chance against Anwar.

"He is not a typical Umno man. He has been giving khutbah in mosques and surau, and is thus supported by the locals in Permatang Pauh," Zainal Abidin had told Malaysiakini in an interview last month.

Anwar's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also PKR president, had won Permatang Pauh with a 13,398-vote majority in the 2008 general election.

She resigned in August that year to allow Anwar to contest in a by-election, which he won with a higher majority of 15,671 votes.

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