Wan Azizah’s candidate? Zawawi is PH’s candidate, says Azmin

The PKR deputy president says the claims made by Umno are an attempt to cause division within Pakatan Harapan

VIDEO INSIDE

Umno has tried to portray Zawawi Ahmad Mughni as being the choice of PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

SHAH ALAM: PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali today brushed off claims by Umno that he was purportedly disappointed with the nomination of Zawawi Ahmad Mughni as the party’s candidate in the Sungai Kandis state seat by-election.

Azmin said the claim was a tactic by Umno and Barisan Nasional to cause division within Pakatan Harapan.

“In PKR and PH we always discuss and make decisions by consensus,” he said today when asked about the claim that Zawawi had been chosen by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to stand in the by-election.

Azmin was with other PKR and PH leaders at the nomination centre for the by-election, to show support for Zawawi.

The claim about Zawawi being Wan Azizah’s choice had been made by Lokman Noor Adam, who is BN’s Sungai Kandis candidate. He claimed he had been told by friends that Wan Azizah had chosen Zawawi without considering the views of her deputy.

Lokman was reported to have said that “many friends in Sungai Kandis were not happy with Wan Azizah’s choice. Azmin and his friends were disappointed it was done without referring to them”.

Azmin said PH was committed to Zawawi as he was a clean candidate, while PKR was committed to defending the Sungai Kandis seat, which has been held by the late Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei for three terms. Shuhaimi died of cancer early last month.

Zawawi was the candidate of PKR and PH, not his or Wan Azizah’s candidate, said Azmin.

“We had discussions at the division and state levels – things which will not happen in BN because their candidate is chosen by their dictatorial leader,” he added.

Zawawi is headmaster of Maahad Tahfiz Al Fateh, a religious school in Jalan Kebun. He is the secretary of PKR’s Religious Enhancement and Understanding bureau. -FMT