'PAS has many worthy candidates to contest in Nenggiri polls'

PAS has a lot of leaders capable of contesting in the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan, rather than relying on a candidate from Bersatu, a state youth leader said.

This comes after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said his party will re-contest the state seat, which has been declared vacant by the Election Commission.

Gua Musang PAS Youth chief Mohd Habidin Hanipa said a candidate from the party must be fielded, given the party's strength in the state constituency.

"The (Gua Musang) PAS Youth is prepared to suggest a suitable candidate, and the party has a lot of leaders capable of being fielded in the by-election," Habidin (above) said in a statement.

It is worth noting that PAS leads Kelantan, and the Islamist party is so dominant in the state that it issued the candidacy letter for the Perikatan Nasional candidate in the last general election.

Habidin said the PAS machinery would be mobilised at a "maximum level" only if the party is given a shot at the state seat.

"The Gua Musang PAS Youth will give its 100 percent commitment to face the Nenggiri by-election, on the condition that a PAS candidate is given the chance to contest."

Nenggiri polls

On June 19, Kelantan state assembly speaker Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah announced that the Nenggiri seat fell vacant after a written notice was received under Clause (3) of Article 31A of the Kelantan state constitution concerning incumbent representative Mohd Azizi Abu Naim’s membership status.

Azizi, who previously voiced support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, filed an injunction at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to halt the Nenggiri by-election but his bid was denied.

Subsequently, the EC announced Aug 17 as the polling day for the Nenggiri by-election.

Nenggiri is one of the three state constituencies under the Gua Musang parliamentary constituency. The other two are Paloh and Galas.

Azizi won Nenggiri in last year's state election with an 810-vote majority over BN candidate Ab Aziz Yusoff. The seat used to be a stronghold of Umno-BN.

Aside from Nenggiri, Azizi won the Gua Musang parliamentary seat in the last general election with a slim 163-vote majority over Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Umno has named Tengku Razaleigh as the election director for the Nenggiri by-election.

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