God tops PAS Pendang candidates victory agenda

comments     Susan Loone     Published     Updated

Holding a thanksgiving to Allah will be the first task of PAS candidate Dr Mohamad Hayati Osman should he win Pendang tomorrow.

"We will thank God for helping us retain this seat. We will thank the people and all those from outside Pendang who came to help us," the 44-year-old doctor told malaysiakini when met this morning.

Hayati is popular with the people in Pendang who often seek his advice on health problems. His wife, Dr Rahimah Saidin, is also a doctor. The couple have seven children.

When introducing him to the people recently, PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar said, "What else do people want? [Prime Minister] Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a doctor, and we have got you a doctor in Pendang".

"But after he (Hayati) wins, you can still go to him for medicine. I don't know if you can do it with Mahathir. He may give you a different medicine for a different disease," he quipped.

Tomorrow's by-elections for the Pendang parliamentary and Anak Bukit state seats were called following the death of PAS president Dr Fadzil Noor last month.

Both seats belonged to the ruling Barisan Nasional until PAS wrested it away in the 1999 general election.

Meanwhile, Hayati said he would carry on Fadzil's services to the people of Pendang.

This, he said, will include repairing the ambulance, which was involved in an accident last week, that the late leader donated to the people.

The ambulance was also used to ferry Fadzil's remains from the Kepala Batas airport to the cemetery in Pokok Sena.

Hayati said he will also organise more welfare services for the people, especially those affected by the floods.

Old formula

On Barisan Nasional's allegation that PAS employed strong-arm tactics and hurled obscenities to discredit the ruling coalition, Hayati said BN were using its same old formula to entice voters.

"But the people of Pendang do not believe them (BN) anymore," he said.

On the more than 50 PAS members joining Umno yesterday, Hayati said this was a ploy to confuse the people.

"They do it all the time. Because they do not really have any issues left to talk about," he said.

The PAS candidate is unfazed by BN's confidence of winning the by-election.

"They are confident. Well, we are more confident. God willing, we will win this one," he said.

The population in Pendang comprises 77,427 Malay Malaysians, 7,266 Chinese Malaysians, 6,189 Thai Malaysians and 1,012 Indian Malaysians.

Hayati will be facing BN's Othman Abdul who lost to Fadzil in the last election.



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