Pakatan Rakyat needs to use the coming  by-election to prove that the coalition is still strong despite friction between PAS and PKR over the Selangor menteri besar crisis.

"The by-election is an important platform for Pakatan to recover its image in the eyes of the rakyat, especially in convincing them to stay with Pakatan,” Perak PAS Youth election director Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar said today.

"Pengkalan Kubor should give the picture that Pakatan's cooperation is strong and it will continue to be the main adversary of BN, as well as that all conflicts can be resolved through dialogue," Fakhrulrazi said in a statement.

He said Perak PAS Youth is awaiting instructions from the central leadership and is prepared to support PKR, which has traditionally contested Pengkalan Kubor.

However, PAS appears to be split on this as other leaders have demanded that PKR hands the seat to the Islamic party, since it failed to wrest it from the BN in 2008 and 2013.

Yesterday, PKR's candidate for the seat in the last general election hinted that the loss was due to internal sabotage from "party allies".

Relations between PAS and PKR do not appear to be improving any time soon, with the Islamic party dragging its feet on giving PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail it's backing in writing .

Kelantan PAS wants seat

Kelantan PAS Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari ( below ) today said it would be appropriate for PKR give way to PAS in Pengkalan Kubor as PKR's double defeat showed the electorate there wanted a PAS candidate.

'The sign of rejection is even clearer when PAS' parliamentary candidate Kamaruddin Jaafar garnered more votes than Umno in the state constituency but yet PKR failed to capture the state seat.

"This scenario is the reality that took place in all locations that were contested by PKR in Kelantan," he said in a statement.

Yesterday, PAS Muslimat chief Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff also called for PKR to cede the seat to the Islamic party.

Pengkalan Kubor is one of four state seats within the parliamentary constituency of Tumpat, which was won by PAS.

The other three are Kelaboran, Pasir Pekan and Wakaf Bharu.

Umno's Pengkalan Kubor assemblyperson Noor Zahidi Omar died of cancer last Wednesday.

In last year's general election, Noor Zahidi defeated PKR's Saharun Ibrahim with a 1,736-majority vote.

He polled 10,174 votes against Saharun's 8,438, whole Independent candidate Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary obtained 65 votes.