The newly elected member of Parliament for Pendang, Othman Abdul, has pledged to do his best for his constituents by bringing their problems and views to the government.

He told reporters this after he was sworn in as the Pendang MP before Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Zahir Ismail this morning.

Othman who won Pendang by a slim majority of 283 votes over PAS candidate Dr Mohd Hayati Othman in the recent by-election also complained that PAS had "transferred" about 1,300 voters to Terengganu and Padang Terap on the Kedah border.

He claimed that out of 44 polling stations, 36 were found with voters who were "shifted" from other constituencies.

"It was planned very well. We are looking into the electoral rolls of other polling stations and will officially tender our complaints to the Election Commission (EC) next week," he told reporters.

Recently, Umno highlighted such electoral actions taken by PAS, but the EC said the move was not illegal.

Support of majority

Earlier, Mohd Zahir announced the appointment of Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang as the new opposition leader.

The Speaker said he was satisfied with Abdul Hadi's appointment as he had obtained the support of the majority of the opposition MPs. He replaced PAS president Fadzil Noor who died in June.

Meanwhile, Abdul Hadi, who is PAS acting president told reporters at the lobby that he would continue Fadzil's work by "criticising the government in a positive way".

"We will continue with our constructive role to ensure that democracy is alive in Malaysia by raising views that should be taken up by the government," said Abdul Hadi, who is also Terengganu menteri besar.