Friday, May 22, 2009

PAS tells BN not to bother contesting Manik Urai

KOTA BARU: PAS told Barisan not to bother to contest the Manik Urai state seat, vacated by the death of assemblyman Ismail Yaacob, 60, who passed away from complications arising from diabetes at 6am on Friday.
"Barisan will surely lose. So it might as well not bother to contest," said PAS Elections Director Datuk Mustafa Ali at a press conference at PAS headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported from Kuala Krai that Kelantan State Assembly Speaker Mohd Nassuruddin Daud will notify the Election Commission of the vacant Manik Urai state seat on Monday.
He said that Friday and Saturday were weekend holidays in Kelantan while Saturday and Sunday were weekend holidays in Kuala Lumpur.
"We will notify the EC of the vacancy on Monday," Mohd Nassuruddin told reporters after paying his last respects to Ismail.
Ismail passed away from complications arising from diabetes at 6am on Friday at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II hospital here.
PAS deputy commissioner II Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said he would be buried at his home in Manik Urai after Friday prayers.
Hospitalised in April, Ismail leaves a wife, Siti Zaharah Ibrahim, and 10 children.
Ismail, who was deputy head of the PAS Kuala Krai Division, is one of the longest-serving PAS elected representatives in Kelantan.
He first won the Manik Urai state seat in 1985 and has held the seat for five terms.
He did not contest the seat in the general election in 2004, paving the way for Zamzuri Mat Lazim to be the elected representative.
Ismail contested the seat again in the general election last year and defeated Mohamed Zulkifli Omar of the Barisan Nasional with a majority of 1,352 votes.
Manik Urai is one of the four state seats in the Kuala Krai parliamentary constituency, the others being Dabung, Guchil and Mengkembang.
PAS, helmed in Kelantan by Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, retained Kelantan in the general election last year by winning 38 seats. Barisan won six seats and Parti Keadilan Rakyat, one.

tunku : all the opposition knows in fighting and politicking. even the BN are not talking about it yet to pay respect for the death of manik urai's assemblyman but pas, the body not yet buried and the attack starts. i am sure that win or lose BN will contest in Manik Urai as the vacancy is because the assemblyman died not like penanti, the assemblyman runs away from responsibilities.hope that mustafa ali will not be so arrogant.God is great.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just hope PM to be consistent in his decision with the same reason. Not flip-flop.

BTW worth reading - http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2009/05/caught-in-middle-sri-lankan-tamils-tell.html

Nani Cheras

HIDUP BN said...

BN Will Contest In Manik Urai: Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) will field a candidate in the by-election to be held in Manik Urai, Kelantan, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Friday.

He said this was because the vacancy came about following the death of the assemblyman and was not a forced resignation.

"I am of the opinion that though it is still early, we will contest there when the vacancy is announced by the Election Commission," he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Federal Territory Umno Liaison Committee, here.

The Marik Urai state seat fell vacant following the death Friday of the PAS state assemblyman, Ismail Yaacob, 60, of a heart attack.

"We will not give easy passage for PAS to retain the seat," he said when asked to comment on a PAS view that BN need not contest in order to save on public funds.

Muhyiddin said the by-election would serve as an opportunity for voters in the constituency to make a decision after having evaluated the work of the BN in Kelantan.

"We hope PAS will not be over-confident, thinking that it is their stronghold. We will contest, God willing," he said, and extended condolences to the family of the late Ismail.