KUALA TERENGGANU: There is a strong possibility that Pas may sit out the Sungai Kandis by-election if other opposition parties are contesting for the state seat.
Pas secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said, this is being done to avoid three-cornered fights.
He said, based on the outcome of the Pas central committee meeting on Sunday, the party would only offer a candidate for the seat if other opposition parties such as Barisan Nasional (BN) do not contest.
In the 14th General Election (GE14), Pas only recorded a moderate achievement in Sungai Kandis when it secured around 7,500 votes.
“There were four other parties contesting the seat, which were Pakatan Harapan (PH), Pas, BN and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)... and Pas only obtained 7,573 votes compared to BN (11,518) and PH (23,998).
“As such, if we place our candidate and congest the playing field, it will only see a repeat of GE14 and we will have failed the objective of securing the seat,” he said.
Takiyuddin was speaking to the media at the Pas Aidilfitri open house at the Stadium Negeri on Sunday.
Asked on whether Pas would support BN’s candidate, Takiyuddin said they will make a decision on the matter. However, he said no instructions have been issued as the decision on who the state representative is, is the right of the voters.
“Had we decided to contest, we would definitely seek the support of all voters including from Umno as the majority of the voters in the area are Malay, and as such, all parties would definitely be fielding Malay candidates,” he said.
The Sungai Kandis state seat, which comes under the Kota Raja parliamentary seat, is now vacant after its incumbent assemblyman, Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei, died of lymphoma cancer last Monday.
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