Kerdau assemblyman passes away, 16th by-election looms

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — Barisan Nasional’s Kerdau assemblyman Datuk Zaharuddin Abu Kassim passed away after suffering a fall in his home this evening.

This will result in a by-election in Pahang which will test Pakatan Rakyat’s claim that it will be a frontline state as it seeks to make further gains in the next general election.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the 63-year-old assemblyman passed away at 6.30pm in Kerdau town this evening.

Kuala Krau MP Datuk Ismail Mohd Said confirmed that Zaharuddin fell in his bathroom.

“At 7.05pm an ambulance arrived at his home and brought him to Hospital Temerloh. At 8pm, the doctor certified that he had passed away at his home,” said the Umno Kuala Krau division chief.

The Election Commission will now have to call a 16th by-election since the March 2008 general election. It will likely be held after the Merlimau state seat in Melaka will be filled on March 6.

In 2008, Zaharuddin (picture) beat PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim with a 1,615-vote majority. Zaharuddin had received medical care in the National Heart Institute after falling into a coma last year. - Malaysian Insider