KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 – PAS will field a candidate for the Tenang by-election and is confident it can deliver a shock victory in the Umno bastion state of Johor.
The Islamist party will contest in the by-election given its experience there in three general elections, PAS vice president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has said.
PAS has contested the Tenang state seat since 1999 and cooperated with the Semangat 46 candidate fielded there in the 1990 and 1995 general elections.
“PAS contested (in Tenang) during the previous general election so we will choose a candidate... to contest here,” Tuan Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider.
PAS machinery operations director for Tenang, Zulkifli Ahmad, also confirmed that the party will field a candidate even though it is rumoured that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partner DAP may contest there.
“This seat has traditionally been allocated to and contested by PAS. According to convention... seats contested by any given party in the last general election will be contested by that same party,” he said.
“Based on this agreement, PAS will contest the Tenang state seat.”
Zulkifli, who is also Johor PAS deputy commissioner, revealed that Johor PAS held a meeting last night to discuss election preparations and that three to four candidates were currently being considered.
“What’s important is that we pick the best of the best,” he said.
He added that PAS will focus on three Felda settlements – Felda Cemplak, Felda Cemplak Barat and Felda Tenang – that constitute some 3,000 votes, despite their being BN strongholds.
Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin called on Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno machinery to not only defend the Tenang seat but gain more support from voters in the constituency.
He said by-elections can no longer be viewed lightly by anyone and that BN needed united and total involvement from its component parties to succeed.
But Tuan Ibrahim remained confident that PAS will be able win the seat as the people of Johor wanted to see change following the 2008 “tsunami”.
“The younger generation wants change in Johor and I am sure they will continue to support (PR) to bring change,” he said.
Tuan Ibrahim said the achievements of PAS candidates since 1999 in Tenang show there is a good chance that the party will win this time around.
He added that PR representatives have performed well in the state assembly these past two years. Both PAS and DAP currently have representatives in the Johor state assembly, with PAS winning one seat two years ago.
The by-election was triggered following the death of Tenang state assemblyman Datuk Sulaiman Taha early yesterday morning.
Sulaiman, 59, died at Ampang Puteri Speciali Hospital here at 1.10am yesterday from a blood infection and diabetes.
The Tenang constituency, located in the parliamentary constituency of Labis, is home to 14,511 voters. Of this total, 49 per cent are Malay, 38 per cent are Chinese and Indians, 12 per cent.
In the last general election, Sulaiman defended the state seat from PAS contender Mohd Saim Siran with a 2,492-vote majority.
Previously, BN had won the seat with a majority of 5,517 votes in the 2004 general election and 8,649 votes in 1999.
The Elections Commission is expected to hold a meeting this coming weekend to discuss the 14th by-election since Election 2008.
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