Parti Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) has become the first party to announce a candidate for the upcoming Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan.

hanafi hamat akim independent candidate permatang pauh 210808 04 According to Bernama , Akim president Hanafi Hamat wants another shot at being an elected representative, after failing miserably in the Permatang Pauh by-election last year.

Hanafi drew a mere 92 votes during the Permatang Pauh by-election, in a three-corner fight with Umno's Arif Shah Omar Shah and PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"Again, I will contest representing Akim in the Manek Urai by-election, to give the voters a choice," said Hanafi who is a voter in Kelantan.

EC to announce date tomorrow

manek urai state seat 220509 The by-election will be held to fill the vacancy left by PAS' Ismail Yaacob, 60, who died of heart complications on May 22.

PAS has yet to announce a candidate and traditional rival Umno has yet to confirm that it would contest for the seat.

The seat, comprising 99.3 percent Malays, is a traditional battleground between the Malay nationalist Umno and Muslim conservative PAS, that has always been keenly fought.

The late Ismail has held the seat for PAS five times since 1985, but the seat fell to Umno in 2004 when Ismail did not contest.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is scheduled to meet tomorrow to fix a date for the by-election.