PAS: Terengganu MB need not resign to contest Kemaman

KEMAMAN BY-ELECTION | There is no need for Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to resign as Terengganu menteri besar for contesting in the Kemaman by-election.

According to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, this is because it is not against the country’s democratic system for Samsuri to run for the parliamentary seat.

“There are a few menteris besar who are also MPs; in Penang, in Selangor, and even from DAP, it is normal.

“I have also served as a menteri besar. This is not an issue in the country’s politics.

“There’s no need (for Samsuri) to resign,” Hadi told a press conference after the candidate nomination process at the Kemaman Municipal Council this morning.

The Marang MP was responding to Umno information chief Azalina Othman Said’s remark that Samsuri (above) should quit as Terengganu menteri besar after joining the Kemaman race.

“If he (Samsuri) is really confident, I would like to challenge him to quit as menteri besar to focus on the Kemaman parliamentary seat. Only then it’s fair.

“This is because he’s contesting on the menteri besar ticket, and even if he loses the by-election, he remains the menteri besar.

“That means he is insincere to the voters of Kemaman,” she was quoted as saying in reports.

Therefore, Samsuri should resign and contest as a normal candidate to provide an even playing ground, she added.

Not taking it easy

Elaborating, Hadi expressed confidence that PAS can win the by-election with an ever bigger majority than the last general election.

“We are not taking this easy because we are going against BN and Harapan, who will shamelessly use government resources (to contest).

“We are not only facing the combined machinery of BN and Harapan but also the government machinery, like the previous by-elections. There will be double standards and money politics, which we can’t do,” Hadi claimed.

The Kemaman by-election will take place on Dec 2. It was called after the Terengganu Election Court nullified the victory of Che Alias Hamid of PAS, who was declared the winner of the seat in the general election last year.

Che Alias won 65,714 votes in the four-cornered battle, defeating Ahmad Said of BN (38,535), Hasuni Sudin of Harapan (8,340), and Rosli Ab Ghani of Pejuang (506).

This time, Samsuri will clash head-on with BN candidate Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, who is the former chief of defence forces.

A total of 141,790 voters are expected to cast their ballots, including 387 police personnel, nine military personnel, and 12 absent voters.

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