PAS is confident of retaining the Kelantan state seat of Galas in the upcoming by-election.

And despite the fact that PAS never won that seat until the last general election in 2008, the Islamist party is still undeterred.

"We are confident that we can continue to win this seat," said PAS Kelantan liaison secretary Zaki Ibrahim, who is also the Kelaboran assemblyperson.

"The people have the confidence in our party after ruling Kelantan for more than 20 years.

"They know the state government does not discriminate between the Malays and the non-Malays in our policies," he told Malaysiakini .

pas muktamar 130610 nik abdul aziz nik mat 1 He also said that it is the state liaison committee, headed by Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat ( left ), who will be selecting the candidate to contest in the polls.

"But our machinery is ready and in place. We are ready for the by-election and there should be no foreseeable problems.

"We're just waiting for the green light from the Election Commission," he said.

PAS central committee to meet Friday

In the meantime, the party's supreme body is also expected to meet this coming Sunday where they may discuss preparations for the by-election campaign.

When asked about the fact that the state seat is surrounded by two other BN-controlled state seats under the parliamentary constituency of Gua Musang (also won by a BN candidate in the last general election), vice-president Salahuddin Ayub ( right ) said that it posed no problems.

"It will be a big challenge for us to defend the seat, and I will not underestimate the strength of our opponents, but the party is in a strong position to defend it," he said during a press conference at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

azlan Incumbent Che Hashim Sulaima, 46, died at the Al-Islam Medical Centre in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday after a long battle with colon cancer.

He defeated Saufi Deraman of BN in 2008 with a majority of 646 votes when he garnered 4,399 votes.

The state seat, which has 10,330 voters, consists of 65.4% Malay, 22.3% Chinese, 1.8% Indian and 10.5% others, mostly Orang Asli.

Galas, one of three state seats under the Gua Musang parliamentary constituency - long held by Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah - is considered a BN stronghold.

However, it fell to PAS in the 2008 general election with Chinese voters in Gua Musang town apparently swinging against Umno.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) expects to receive tomorrow or on Thursday a notice from the Kelantan state assembly speaker indicating a vacancy for the Galas state seat, EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said today.

"If the notice is received (then), the EC will have until Oct 7 to announce the by-election," he said when contacted by Bernama.

Additional reporting by Joseph Sipalan .

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