SG BESAR POLLS It is not right to say that the by-elections in Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar were God's punishment to BN, said Amanah communications chief Khalid Samad.

Khalid said he did not know the intention behind former Perak menteri besar Nizar Jamaluddin's remarks, adding that the party did not take pleasure in the by-elections.

"Everything that happens is the act of God... The death of the parliamentarians was tragic, we don't take any pleasure in having these by-elections.

"Officially, we don't think these by-elections and the deaths of the MPs were divine punishment, that is not the right attitude.

"If that was what he meant, then we don't agree," Khalid said at a press conference in Sungai Besar today.

However, he said there was a chance Nizar's message had not come across as intended.

Amanah candidate for the Kuala Kangsar by-election Ahmad Termizi Ramli likewise believed Nizar’s remarks were simply taken out of context.

Termizi said this when asked whether the former Perak menteri besar’s statement would affect Amanah’s campaign in the polls.

“To be fair to him, I’ve known him since our university days. It’s not his attitude.

“I don’t think he meant it as what was written in the papers,” said Termizi in a press conference held at Amanah’s Kuala Kangsar headquarters today.

Asked further, Termizi pointed out how Nizar said the by-election was a chance to teach Najib and Zahid.

“He said it’s a chance to teach. The one who gives the chance is Allah.

“Based on the context, I have no problem with (his remarks),” said Termizi.

On Monday night, Nizar said that Allah decided that a by-election be held in Kuala Kangsar due to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s rudeness in seizing the then Pakatan Rakyat-led Perak government in 2009.