Pakatan to decide on Rantau candidate

PORT MORESBY ( Papua New Guinea): Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the candidate for the Rantau by-election in Negri Sembilan would be decided by the Pakatan presidential council.

He said the issue of which party was going to put up the candidate did not arise as more importantly, the candidate was going to represent the four component parties of Pakatan.

“The person contesting is a candidate of Pakatan, not a candidate of Pribumi (Bersatu) or Keadilan (PKR).

“So, we will determine who will be the candidate,” the Prime Minister told Malaysian media after the conclusion of the 26th Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting here yesterday.

He was commenting on the names from Pakatan coalition parties being circulated for the coming state by-election.

On Friday, the Special Election Court in Seremban declared Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s victory in the Rantau state seat during GE14 null and void and a by-election for the seat should be held soon.

Mohamad won the seat unopposed after PKR candidate Dr S. Streram was not allowed in the nomination centre because he did not have a pass issued by the Election Commission (EC).

Commenting on the by-election, Dr Mahathir said “From the start, we knew it was not right.

“Rules on people coming late, not wearing pass, these are all of the old government.

“The previous government was looking for ways to deceive. Now we see they are the one.”

Dr Mahathir ended the last day of his stay here by visiting the Hohola Mosque, the first purpose-built mosque in Papua New Guinea.

Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said Dr Mahathir was instrumental in the building of the mosque in 2001 on land donated by the Papua New Guinea government to a local Islamic society.

Dr Mahathir and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali left Port Moresby for Kuala Lumpur last night after attending the Apec annual summit here.

Meanwhile in Shah Alam, newly elected PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said it would be an “ethically difficult” decision if the party drops Dr Streram.

He said this was because Dr Streram was initially fielded by PKR during GE14 and was unfairly denied the right to take part in the polls by the EC during the Barisan Nasional administration.

“My opinion is that he was the candidate and was denied (contest) in the process.

“Then, the judge (Special Election Court) recently made a ruling.

“So, to cancel his candidacy, to me, that is ethically difficult,” he said during a press conference held at the end of the 13th PKR national congress.

Anwar said the decision to field which candidate in Rantau was not his call, as it needed to go through various stages in the party’s procedure of choosing a viable candidate. — Bernama

My opinion is that he (Dr Streram) was the candidate and was denied (contest) in the process. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim