PAS is afraid! And this is why it refuses to dissolve the Kelantan state assembly if it loses the upcoming Pengkalan Pasir by-election, said state Umno liaison committee chairperson Annuar Musa today.

He said the way PAS was handling the matter showed that the party had lost confidence.

"Why are they so afraid of calling fresh polls in the event of a BN (Barisan Nasional) win?" he told Bernama .

He added that should BN wrest Pengkalan Pasir from PAS, the latter would have a difficult time managing the state with only a one seat majority

Annuar said PAS had a moral responsibility to go back to the people and seek a fresh mandate if it loses the by-election.

"What we are saying is let the people decide, if they are really for PAS they might return the party an even a bigger majority," he added.

Keep it clean

The by-election in Pengkalan Pasir is being held following the death of its state assemblyman, Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Jaafar, 55, on Oct 31 due to liver cancer.

In the last general election, Wan Abdul Aziz who contested on a Pas ticket defeated the BN candidate, Hanafi Mamat by a slim majority of 56 votes.

Kelantan, the only state ruled by an opposition party, has 24 seats in the State Assembly while the BN 21.

In a related development, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi advised those involved in the by-election to observe healthy democratic practices, avoid quarrels and not cause security problems.

He said they should work in accordance with healthy democratic practices to give the voters the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

"I have yet to see for myself but from the reports I get daily everything is proceeding smoothly," said Abdullah who is also BN chairperson and Umno president.