Pejuang to sit out Kemaman polls

Party president Mukhriz Mahathir said for now, the party had yet to decide which coalition they would be backing in the upcoming polls.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pejuang will not contest in the Dec 2 Kemaman by-election, says its president Mukhriz Mahathir.

“We are not contesting in Kemaman as we want to focus on strengthening the party for the next general election,” he said at a press conference here.

In the last general election, Pejuang fielded Rosli Abd Ghani as its candidate in Kemaman in a four-cornered fight. He only managed to secure 506 votes.

The party also lost the remaining seven parliamentary constituencies it contested in Terengganu, with candidates winning less than 600 votes.

The Kemaman by-election, meanwhile, was called after an election court nullified Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) win in the constituency in last year’s general election (GE15) over bribery claims.

The seat was won by PAS’s Che Alias Hamid with a majority of 27,170 votes over his nearest rival, former menteri besar Ahmad Said of Umno, who contested on a Barisan Nasional ticket.

Mukhriz also said that for now, the party had yet to decide which coalition they would be backing in the upcoming polls.

His father, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously backed PN in the previous six state elections.

Separately, the former Jerlun MP said Pejuang would be holding a protest on Friday to denounce Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.

“We will march from the Tabung Haji mosque in Kuala Lumpur towards the US embassy.

“We urge every peace-loving Malaysian, no matter your background or religion, to join us in our march in protest of the Israeli aggression towards Gaza,” he said.

Last Friday, the embassy closed its main entrance prior to a gathering held in front of it to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

A war between Israel and Hamas broke out recently following a surprise attack by the militant group within Israel, which is a staunch ally of the US. - FMT