KEMAMAN voters need to make Kemaman the link between Terengganu and the unity government in the upcoming by-election next month, said an UMNO leader.
UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said that should Kemaman be part of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led unity government, the people in the constituency can benefit from the various forms of aid and other resources.
“Why is the former Chief of Defence Forces General a better candidate than the Terengganu Menteri Besar? Because if General (R) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor wins, Kemaman will be part of the federal government which will be in the better position to assist the people,” Ahmad was quoted as saying by UMNO Online today (Nov 17) in a statement.
“If the MB (Ahmad Samsuri) wins, Kemaman will remain in the opposition. Do Kemaman folks want to be a part of the government or remain in the opposition? These are Kemaman voters’ two options.”
Ahmad further noted that the decision of the four Perikatan Nasional (PN) MP who choose to support Anwar’s administration did so because they needed the federal government to help their respective constituencies.
“Why did four PN MPs switch their allegiance and declare support for the prime minister? This is because they want the federal government to help the people in their area. The Kelantan PAS government did not provide adequate assistance to the Jeli MP, Gua Musang MP, and the other two MPs.
“It is also important to remember that Kemaman should be established as a bridge connecting Terengganu to the unity government because there has yet to be a representative from Terengganu in the federal government. This is the best option there is,” the Pontian MP remarked.
“Don’t ‘burn’ this bridge linking Terengganu to unity government. Give us a chance to serve the people.”
Last night (Nov 16), PAS deputy resident Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man named Ahmad Samsuri as the party’s candidate for the upcoming Kemaman by-election.
He will be up against Barisan Nasional’s candidate, Raja Affandi in the forthcoming by-election.
On Sept 26 the Terengganu Election Court has nullified the victory of Che Alias Hamid, who had been declared the winner of the Kemaman parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15) after Judge Datuk Anselm Charles Fernandis said the petitioner, voter Wan Mohamad Hisham Wan Abdul Jalil, succeeded in proving that corruption had taken place with the aim of influencing voters during GE15.
On Oct 3, PAS decided not to file an appeal against the decision of the Election Court which annulled the victory of Che Alias.
In GE15, Che Alias had won the Kemaman seat in a four-cornered fight with 65,714 votes, which gave him a 27,179 vote-majority over BN’s Ahmad Said. Ahmad was the candidate with the second-highest number of votes at 38,535.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Hasuni Sudin garnered 8,340 votes and Pejuang candidate Rosli Abd Ghani obtained only 506 votes.
The Election Commission (EC) has set polling day for the Kemaman parliamentary by-election on Dec 2, nomination day on Nov 18, and early voting on Nov 28. – Nov 17, 2023
Main pic credit: The Star
