The Kuala Terengganu by-election on Jan 17 is likely to see a showdown between Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and PAS’ Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi.

Wan Ahmad Farid, a senator and deputy home minister, is the favourite given his popularity in Terengganu, where he heads the Umno Kuala Terengganu division.

He is also considered a ‘political heavyweight’, which is an advantage because the parliamentary seat was previously held by a deputy minister - Razali Ismail, who died of a heart attack on Nov 28.

wan ahmad farid salleh interview 041007 talking When contacted today, Wan Ahmad Farid (right) said he would attend the event tomorrow where the announcement is to be made by deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak, but quipped: “That is part of my job (as a division leader), isn’t it?”

Other names being bandied about are those of division deputy chief Mohd Sabri Alwi, state information chief Zuber Embong, state secretary Senator Roslan Awang Chik and the division’s former information chief Mohd Zuber Embong (no connection to the state information head).

PAS, which will carry the Pakatan Rakyat banner, is said to have narrowed its choices to Syed Azman, state chief Mustafa Ali and vice-president Mohamad Sabu.

Party leaders will make their decision on Sunday after a meeting of the central working committee, which will consider feedback from local divisions.

Mohamad was the losing candidate in the March general election, having been defeated by Razali by a slim 628 votes. Grandmother Maimun Yusuf, 89, stood as an Independent and obtained 685 votes.

The dark horse in the PAS trio is said to be Syed Azman, the state assemblyperson for Batu Burok - one of four state seats under the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency.

The New Straits Times reported today that Syed Azman, a former MP, is the most popular candidate, going by two recent opinion polls.

pas new straits times demo cartoon 240206 syed azman “I am surprised by the overwhelming response,” he said when contacted, but added that he has yet to see the outcome of the opinion polls.

He declined comment on the impending candidacy, saying: “That is something that I can’t comment on as yet, since we are going to have our meeting this weekend.”

On the by-election, Syed Azman stressed that PAS will have to work “triple hard” especially in terms of garnering the Chinese vote, which makes up about 10.9 percent of the total.

The by-election is the second to be called since the general election. In August, the by-election for the vacated Permatang Pauh federal seat was won by PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim.

Independents in the fray?

Also expected to join the Kuala Terengganu contest are Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia and two Independent candidates.

Local businessman Mohd Azlan Ismail and Isma Airfath Hassanuddin from Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, have reportedly expressed their interest in contesting as Independents.

maimun yusof Maimun, who took enough votes away from Mohamad to deny him victory, could be the wild card if she can raise enough funds to run for the seat.

According to the Election Commission statistics, there will be 80,229 registered voters, including 1,035 postal voters, with Malays making up the overwhelming majority at 88.2 percent.

The commission has fixed Jan 6 for nominations and will allow 11 days for campaigning.

The by-election is being touted as a critical test of public reaction to BN’s reform promises after its disastrous results in the 12th general election.