updated news

Keadilan will not be contesting in the impending Ketari by-election, announced party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today, putting to rest speculation of a three-cornered fight.

Wan Azizah said in a press statement that Keadilan will step aside for DAP to place its candidate in Ketari against the incumbent party, Barisan Nasional.

The decision was reached after considering the report from the Pahang information bureau yesterday, said Wan Azizah.

However, we have decided to keep our options open where helping DAP in the campaign is concerned. The decision will be made by the Barisan Alternatif soon, she added.

At the Parliament lobby today, Keadilan supreme council member Abdul Rahman Yusof said the party was not contesting for the sake of future co-operation between the opposition parties.

Although party leaders had said earlier that the decision would be left to the Pahang branch leaders, Abdul Rahman said they have now conceded that the seat should be contested by DAP.

The matter was unanimously agreed on, said Abdul Rahman, who is also the Kemaman member of Parliament.

He is confident that the BA leadership will endorse Keadilans decision.

On assisting DAP in the campaign, Abdul Rahman said he would personally offer his assistance even if his party decides to refrain from giving its support.

The official decision, however, is expected to be announced by BA on Wednesday.

Awaiting official request

Meanwhile, at the Parliament lobby today, PAS president Fadzil Noor confirmed that the Muslim party will not be contesting in Ketari.

As for aiding DAP in its campaign, Fadzil said PAS will wait for an official request from DAP first.

According to several PAS leaders, the official request was necessary as the party does not want to be blamed should DAP lose.

DAP has been distancing itself from PAS over the latters Islamic state agenda which eventually caused the secular party to leave the opposition front last September.

Gerakan has yet to announce its candidate but has narrowed down the choice to Ketari branch chairperson, lawyer Yum Ah Ha, 51; deputy chairperson of Perting branch, dentist Dr Ng Kong Chai, 42; branch chairperson of Bandar Karak, commissioner of oaths Leong Yen Kong, 60, and Sungai Dua branch chairperson, logging operator Leong Ah Khuan, 46.

Gerakan president Lim Keng Yaik said the name of the candidate will only be announced on Wednesday after it has been vetted by Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob and BN chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

It is believed that the selection would be narrowed down to Yum and Ng. The former is a fluent speaker of the kongsai dialect which gives him an added advantage as most of the Ketari Chinese speak that dialect.

The Ketari seat fell vacant following the death of its representative, Loke Kum Kam of Gerakan. The BN candidate won with a 231-vote majority in the 1999 general elections, beating Chong Siew On of DAP which was then a BA component.

No date has been set for the by-election which must be held within 60 days.

The updated electoral roll now has Malay Malaysian voters totalling 6,759 (38.94 percent); Chinese Malaysians numbering 9,372 (54.1); Indian Malaysians, 907 (5.23); and other Malaysians, 319 (1.84).