GE14 | Long-term Paloh incumbent Nozula Mat Diah has revealed that he was in the dark about his fate until 48 hours ago.

He expressed regret for not being informed earlier that he had been axed from the list of Kelantan BN candidates for the coming general election.

“I was a bit hurt when the party didn’t inform me earlier that I would not be selected.The least they could have done is whispered (berbisik) something in my ear,” he told Malaysiakini.

Earlier today, Kelantan BN chairperson Mustapa Mohamed announced that Nozula would be the sole incumbent dropped from the coalition's GE14 lineup.

According to him, the final decision on the candidates' list was made by BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak.

“I thank him (Nozula) for his 28 years of service as Paloh state assemblyperson.

“Nozula’s contributions will be remembered, and we hope that he will help the BN machinery to create history in Kelantan,” he told a press conference in Kota Bahru.

'Even Ku Li said nothing'

Nozula also lamented that although he meets up with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah on a regular basis, the Gua Musang Umno chief said nothing about him being left out for the coming polls.

“Ku Li should have told me about this sooner, so I would have been able to offer an explanation to my supporters, who were already prepared to get the GE14 machinery running.

“But I was only informed two days before today's announcement of Kelantan BN candidates.

“I kept going around, working the ground. Had I known earlier, I would have taken another approach to take care of the people,” he said.

Nozula admitted that his health issues might have factored into the party’s decision, but nevertheless stressed that he would continue to support Umno's struggle.

The state seat of Paloh is located in the parliamentary constituency of Gua Musang.

In the 2013 general election, Nozula defeated PKR’s Amran Abd Ghani by 3,937 votes, besting his 2,833-vote majority from 2008.