The friction among opposition parties is seen as an advantage for the BN to recapture the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, says Special Affairs Department (Jasa) director-general Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

 

He said the opposition still failed to find common ground over hudud and other issues.

 

Puad was speaking to reporters after meeting with heads of the Kuala Mengkuang district polling centres in Permatang Pauh yesterday.

 

He went on to remind BN members to work as a team in the coming Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election and learn from the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat, which was re-captured by BN in last year's by-election.

 

The Election Commission announced May 7 for polling, April 25 for nomination and May 3 for early voting in the Permatang Pauh by-election.

 

The seat was declared vacant after its incumbent, Anwar Ibrahim, was disqualified as the Member of Parliament after the Pardons Board rejected a petition for a royal pardon sought by the opposition leader's family over his conviction for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

 

Anwar is currently serving a five-year jail sentence in the Sungai Buloh Prison.

- Bernama