The Galas state seat fell vacant with the death of PAS lawmaker Che Hashim Sulaima on Monday, triggering the country’s 12th by-election since Election 2008.
“I have no doubt that Tengku Razaleigh is the best candidate ,” the deputy prime minister said of the Kelantan prince who is otherwise ignored by his party after his challenge for the Umno presidency lacked nominations last year.
“But we will discuss whether Tengku Razaleigh wishes to contest there or has candidates he wishes to propose to the leadership,” he added. The politician popularly known as Ku Li is expected to return home from abroad on October 9.
Muhyiddin said Umno would give priority to any candidate proposed by Tengku Razaleigh in his capacity as the party’s Gua Musang division chief.
He also expressed confidence that Tengku Razaleigh’s appointment as Galas election director was the “right step” to ensure a Barisan Nasional (BN) victory in the constituency.
“I believe our step was right... Tengku Razaleigh is an Umno leader with much experience and influence,” he said, pointing out that Tengku Razaleigh was highly regarded by the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities there.
The Pagoh MP was responding to PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub’s comment yesterday that Muhyiddin was “running” from the Kelantan electorate after a bridge he promised to Manek Urai residents during the by-election there last year failed to materialise.
Muhyiddin had promised to build a new bridge costing RM7 million to replace the current bridge that accommodates only one car at a time, but said the bridge will only be built if BN won the by-election.
PAS was able to retain the Manek Urai state seat by a wafer-thin margin of 65 votes, or 0.61 per cent of votes cast, despite earlier predictions of a thumping win for the Islamist party.
But he played down the relevance of Tengku Razaleigh’s views on the Kelantan oil royalty issue, which are opposed to that of the BN-led federal government.
“We respect Ku Li’s views... As a Kelantan leader, he might be thinking of Kelantanese matters, but he also knows the situation, stand and policies of the central government with regards to that issue,” he added.
PAS has said it is ready to face any opponents for the seat, telling Umno to step aside if it was serious about Malay unity.
Umno has refused, with party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak vowing to win back the seat from PAS which Che Hashim captured by a majority of 646 votes in Election 2008.
Che Hashim had been suffering from colon cancer for more than a year and was admitted to Kampung Baru Medical Centre here last week.
The one-term assemblyman had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009, when he underwent a medical check-up at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. The PAS lawmaker had been receiving treatment at specialist hospitals in Kota Baru and Guangzhou, China since then.
Che Hashima won Galas with 4,399 votes, defeating incumbent Saufi Deraman. In the 2008 general election, PAS was able to capture 38 of the 45 state seats in Kelantan while BN won six and PKR managed only one.
The Malays make up 65.81 per cent of the more than 10,000 voters in the state constituency, the Chinese 22.03 per cent, Indians 1.81 per cent, while other races are at 10.32 per cent.
Two other state seats in the Gua Musang constituency — Nenggiri and Paloh — were won by BN with majority of 2,090 vote and 2,833 votes respectively.
courtesy of Malaysian Insider
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