BN candidate regarded as underdog

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Khir Toyo has regarded Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat by-election, Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh, as the underdog.

He said this was because in the last general election, BN had only won one of the four state seats in the constituency.

“So, being the underdog, we have to work harder,” he told reporters after the presentation of awards to students who excelled in the 2008 UPSR and PMR examinations and school uniforms, bags and shoes for the 2009 school session organised by the Youth and Puteri wings of the Cheras Umno division, here, today.

However, he said, as the Kuala Terengganu Umno division chief who won the post unopposed recently, Wan Farid was a suitable candidate for BN.

He believed that BN’s back-to-basic and house-to-house by-election campaign could help ensure victory for its candidate, besides its ability to respond clearly to the various allegations made by the opposition against BN.

Dr Mohamed Khir said BN, however, also had an advantage after the failure of Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition pact, to form a government on Sept 16 as promised to its supporters.

“Today, Pakatan Rakyat may have felt cheated by (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim. The Anwar factor can be reduced in Kuala Terengganu as his popularity has gone down to below 40 per cent, according to a recent survey,” he said.

Besides that, he added, the transfer of power from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would also give new hope to the voters in Kuala Terengganu.

Dr Mohamed Khir said PAS would meanwhile use religious issues to attack Umno but the party (Umno) could deal with this.

Asked about Umno’s stand in disallowing any of its candidates to use blogs to campaign, he said blogging should be encouraged as long as the blogs were not used to malign others but to share views.

“In fact, besides blogs, using voice mail and MMS should also be encouraged as these are new technology used by young people today. Preventing such usage will only go against the needs of our youths,” he said. — Bernama

Pas decides on KT candidate today

KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 30 — Pas leaders are holding a meeting here today to finalise the party's candidate for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election.

The leaders will decide between Batu Burok assemblyman Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi and state deputy commissioner Datuk Wan Mutalib Embong.

"Wan Mutalib is the president's choice but Dr Syed Azman is the people's choice," a party source told The Malaysian Insider.

Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had said he will disclose the candidate on New Year's Day.

The party had commissioned two independent surveys that showed Dr Syed Azman is the party’s best hope to capture the seat from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in the Jan 17 by-election.

The Islamist party had called for the surveys in its search for the most popular candidate after dismal outings for the seat in the past two general elections.

In both surveys, the Batu Burok state assemblyman came out tops over Pas commissioner Datuk Mustafa Ali and Wan Mutalib to represent the party for nomination day on Jan 6.

The Pas candidate will face, among others, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who leads the Kuala Terengganu Umno division, for a mandate from the 80,229 voters there.

The by-election was called after its MP Datuk Razali Ismail died in late November. The deputy education minister was a two-term MP who won by a slim 628-vote majority against Pas’s Mohamed Sabu and grandmother Maimun Yusof.

Both Umno and Pas have had to grapple with various options for the seat which is crucial to both their fortunes after the March 8 general election which saw BN losing its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and four more states to the opposition.

Pas won 23 parliamentary seats but came behind its Pakatan Rakyat allies and is seen as a junior partner in the electoral pact. Party spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who is also Kelantan Menteri Besar, had endorsed Mohamed Sabu to contest again but the Penang leader is seen as an outsider in the constituency which both Umno and its rivals have traded since the 1980s.

Razali was also the first MP in recent times to keep the seat again. For BN, it must win the by-election to prove it has regained its strength after also losing the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who took back his political stronghold from his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

The by-election is also crucial to BN election director Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, the Umno president-elect who is slated to succeed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi next March.

Incidentally, Wan Ahmad Farid was political secretary to Abdullah and his candidacy is seen as proof of Abdullah's continued influence in Umno. BN is set to exploit Pas’s recent reaffirmation that it will implement Islamic criminal hudud laws if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power.

Pas vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, who made the statement in a debate with Umno Youth chief hopeful Khairy Jamaluddin two weeks ago, has hastily clarified his statements after Pakatan Rakyat ally DAP objected to it. Both parties fell out over the same issue after the 1999 general election where the opposition gained more seats due to Anwar’s sacking as deputy prime minister and finance minister by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

PAS Candidate To Contest In K. Terengganu By-Election

PENANTI, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the DAP will their give full support to any PAS candidate in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election on Jan 17.

Anwar, who is also PKR advisor, said Kuala Terengganu would not be a safe seat for any party and the Pakatan Rakyat would be out in full force to fight for the seat.

"PKR and DAP have decided to give full commitment to the PAS candidate, whether he is the experienced Mohammad Sabu or others, to contest in Kuala Terengganu," he told reporters after celebrating his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's 56th birthday at Yayasan Aman here.

He said Pakatan Rakyat was confident of winning the seat which fell vacant after the incumbent, Datuk Razali Ismail, who is also the Deputy Education Minister, died of a heart attack while playing badminton on Nov 28.

In the March 8 polls this year, Razali won by a slim 628-vote majority, defeating PAS heavyweight Mat Sabu and 89-year-old independent candidatelead by Maimun Yusuf. Polling is on Jan 17 and nomination on Jan 6.

The Permatang Pauh MP also called on the federal government to set up an independent panel of experts to look into the causes of the 1993 Highland Towers collapse and the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa on Saturday.

-- BERNAMA