Prior to undergoing a heart-bypass surgery, the late PAS president Fadzil Noor had willed RM30,000 for the by-elections in his constituencies in Kedah, said PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar at a ceramah (public talk) in Gajah Mati, Pendang, last night.

Fadzil, 65, passed away on June 23 at the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, prompting next Thursday's by-elections for the Pendang parliamentary and Anak Bukit state seats in Kedah.

Last night's ceramah appeared to be more a memorial than a political campaign.

Veteran poet Dinsman, who was Fadzil's former student, recited a poem titled Selamat jalan ustaz (Farewell, my religious teacher).

Supporters also presented a 'gift' to the late president application forms from 323 "young men and women of Pendang".

The gift was accepted by PAS spiritual advisor and Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat who was the guest of honour.

In his speech, Mahfuz urged the new members to work hard during the eight-day campaign period that begins with nomination today. He said they must ensure PAS' victory so that Fadzil's work there will be continued by his party.

"Pendang must be defended at all cost," the MP for Pokok Sena stressed in his usual fiery manner, to the 3,000-odd people who packed the PAS operations centre.

"Umno says they want to ambil balik (claim back) this land. But we are going to make sure their ambil balik becomes apam balik (a Malaysian pancake)," he quipped, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Hard work

He also warned members and supporters of the hard work that awaited them over the next eight days.

"We hope people are not here for a holiday. If you want to go for a holiday, go to Kelantan.

"There's also no need for voluntary district officers plying one road to another. Just go to the party's operations centre and help out in the campaign," urged Mahfuz.

Also present at the ceramah were PAS vice-president Dr Hasan Ali, PRM president Dr Syed Husin Ali and vice-president Lee Sang, Keadilan deputy president Abdul Rahman Othman and vice-president Azmin Ali.

Nik Aziz later announced Dr Muhamad Hayati Osman, 47, as PAS' candidate for Pendang.

In his speech, Muhamad, who runs a clinic in the district, thanked PAS leaders for giving him the opportunity to continue Fadzil's struggle.

"He (Fadzil) guided me in politics and prepared me to be a member of parliament. He has also shown us that this is our duty together not only [to fight] for PAS but for Muslims all over the world," he said.

Keadilan's Azmin praised the people for their strength and willpower to battle Barisan Nasional despite their leader's absence.

"Unlike another political party, when their president announced his resignation, everyone was jumping about," he said referring to Dr Mahathir Mohamad's announcement of his 'resignation' as prime minister and Umno president.

When Syed Husin addressed the crowd, he criticised Mahathir for berating the Malays and labelling them as a "backward" race.

"The new villages (Malay dominated areas) were set up by the British. There has been no development in these areas. If they (Malays) are backward here, whose fault is this Mahathir's or the Malays'?" he queried.

Nostalgic gift

Later, Fadzil's son, Fais, thanked PAS leaders and supporters for standing by his family during their hour of need.

He then presented the ambulance which ferried his father's remains to the people of Pendang.

"This is a nostalgic, memorable gift from my father to the people of Pendang," he said.

Yesterday, PAS acting president and Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang announced that the Muslim party would be fielding engineer Amiruddin Hamzah as the candidate for Anak Bukit.

Hadi made the announcement at the PAS operations centre in Sg Baru, Anak Bukit.

Meanwhile, Umno said it will be fielding two ex-MPs for the contest.

Othman Abdul, 51, who lost to Fadzil in the 1999 general election, will stand in Pendang while Zakaria Said, 58, the former MP for Kuala Kedah, will be leading the BN charge in Anak Bukit.

The by-elections have been described as an acid test for the ruling BN which has seen its dominance in the Malay-majority state threatened by the opposition party.