Wait for reports before deciding on by-elections – Tengku Adnan

PUTRAJAYA: Barisan Nasional (BN) will obtain a full report from Penang and Kelantan Umno respectively before deciding on whethertocontestinthePermatang Pauh and Chempaka by-elections.

BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said BN needed not follow the tune of the opposition which had started getting excited over the vacant Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in Penang and Cempaka state seat in Kelantan when the Election Commission had not even issued a notice on the vacant seats.

“We will wait for the report from Teng (Teng Chang Yeow) as the Penang BN chairman, on the Permatang Pauh seat and from Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed as the Kelantan BN chief, on the Cempaka seat.

“From there, we will consider what to do,” he said when asked by reporters on BN’s involvement in the two by-elections after flaggingoff the 1Federal Territory Cycling Convoy 2015 in front of the Palace of Justice here yesterday in conjunction with the Federal Territory Day celebrations.

Also present were Federal Territories Ministry secretarygeneral Datuk Seri Adnan Md Ikshan and Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.

On Mustapa’s view that BN need not field a candidate for the Chempaka by-election but to focus on unity and the postflood restoration efforts, Tengku Adnan said Mustapa’s statement showed concern for the people’s problems compared to political considerations.

He said Mustapa’s view would be discussed among the BN top leaders, although the matter had been touched upon at the BN supreme council meeting last Friday.

Prior to this, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also BN chairman, had reportedly said that any decision on the by-elections would be discussed with the state and BN divisions concerned after the Election Commission had made an official announcement on the two vacant seats.

With regard to the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, the incumbent Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be disqualified as its MP, 14 days after the upholding of his conviction and five-year jail sentence for the offence of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Last Tuesday, the Federal Court rejected Anwar’s last appeal against the sodomy conviction and jail sentence.