Pulau Manis assemblyman sad as father passed away before he was declared winner

PEKAN: The father of Pulau Manis state assemblyman in the Pekan Parliamentary constituency, Khairuddin Mahmud, passed away on Sunday night, moments before he was declared the winner.

Mahmud Akil, 83, died in the Pekan Hospital at 9.45pm while his son Khairuddin was still at the Dewan Konvensyen Sultan Ahmad Shah in Pekan where he was later announced as the winner of the Pulau Manis state seat after beating PAS candidate Othman Bakar by a 5,596-vote majority.

“It was a tense and emotional moment for me when informed that my father had passed away. I was sad that my father was not around to share my victory,” he said after he was announced as the winner of the seat.

Although sad, Khairuddin was still able to interact and even offer a smile at his supporters after the announcement.

“I am grateful to have fulfilled my father’s wishes to defend the state assembly seat for a second term. He had always advised me to shoulder the responsibility of being a state assemblyman well so that I will be received by the people. I will certainly follow his advise,” he said. — Bernama