PAS is crying foul over the simultaneous campaigning periods for the

Kerdau and Merlimau by-elections recently announced by the

Election Commission.

Saying that the double by-elections will most certainly stretch PAS resources, a it is expected to contest both seats - party president Abdul Hadi Awang, however ,added that he had never expected anything less from EC.

"You have to remember that the EC is under the Prime Minister's Department.

"And we have never trusted the EC to conduct elections fairly," he said. However, he added that he does not blame EC personnel or officers for this.

pas muktamar 130610 abdul hadi awang "They are just civil servants with limited power, limits put

in place by the Barisan Nasional government," Abdul Hadi ( left ) said.

Speaking to Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the "National Convention

on Race Empowerment - PAS' Guarantee", he added that the party is geared up for the polls, despite the unequal playing field.

"And we all know that BN will deploy their machinery, which includes

the police, army and their civil servants in the most unreasonable

manner while PAS strategies are confined to ceramah and small

meetings," said Abdul Hadi.

Dates a sign that BN scared of Pakatan

Meanwhile, PAS vice-president and Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar said that the simultaneous campaigning period is "proof that BN is scared of thePR".

"(BN) cannot stand the pressure from Pakatan anymore. Like in the

Tenang by-election, everyone thought that it would be a walkover in

the BN stronghold. Still, we gave them a good fight.

"So maybe with the simultaneous polling dates, there would be less

pressure on the BN. But I hope that the people also know that this would also mean that the BN would pay less attention to them," he said.

However, Mahfuz added that the two by-elections should not

pose too much of a problem for the Islamic party.

"Yes, it will stretch our resources, but the general elections also

mean that all constituencies will have their polling on the same

date," he said.

The EC had fixed Feb 26 as the nomination date for the Kerdau state constituency  with polling on March 6, together with the Merlimau by-election which had been decided earlier.

Adding his two sens worth on the EC's decision, Mahfuz reckoned

that this could be a sign for the impending Sarawak elections.

"I think that immediately after the by-elections, Sarawak will also

jalan (run)," he said.

the Sarawak state elections have to be held before

July this year according to its constitution.