Hadi: PAS will contest in PD

Party to announce candidate tonight

KUALA TERENGGANU: PAS will field a candidate for the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election.

Party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said the candidate would be named during a PAS event in Port Dickson tonight.

“The candidate will be someone of similar calibre as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Although we do not agree with how this by-election was called, we are doing so to keep democracy alive,” he said after chairing the PAS central committee meeting here last night.

He did not elaborate on who the PAS candidate would be.

During the recent PAS muktamar (general assembly), Abdul Hadi said his party would field a candidate if Umno did not.

Barisan Nasional has decided to boycott the by-election, claiming that it is a ploy to fulfil someone’s political ambitions.

Abdul Hadi admitted that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to win the by-election.

When asked if it would bring Umno along on its campaign trail in Port Dickson, he said the party was open to those interested.

The Port Dickson by-election was called after its MP Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah vacated it on Sept 12 to make way for Anwar, the PKR president-elect, to contest the seat and return to Parliament.

In Seremban, former MIC secretary-general Datuk S. Kumar has decided against contesting as an independent in the by-election.

He said he initially decided to throw in his hat in protest the party’s decision to stay out and allow Umno to contest the seat.

Port Dickson had traditionally been contested by the MIC when the seat was formerly called Teluk Kemang.

“However, the situation has now changed with Umno not fielding a candidate,” Kumar said in a statement yesterday.

Kumar appealed to Anwar to help the Indian community in the constituency.

“And I am prepared to offer him my assistance,” he said.

Other than Anwar and the candidate from PAS, Stevie Chan Keng Leong is contesting the seat as an independent.