Merlimau: PAS digs in, citing earlier compromises

PAS and the PKR appear to be locking horns over whose candidate should represent the Pakatan Rakyat in the fight for the Merlimau state seat in Malacca.

The party's Malacca commissioner Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman, told Malaysiakini that PKR should not have made statements to the press without discussing the matter with other coalition partners first.

"We respect Shamsul Iskandar (Mohd Akin) as PKR Youth chief, however, he should consult with us before issuing such statements of wanting to contest there. This may create unnecessary friction.

"However, I want to point out that Merlimau has been traditionally a PAS seat and we will contest there. We have had two meetings since Friday to discuss preparations and all is going well. We will contest there," he said.

Abdul Ghani ,who is also PAS central committee member, said when the Bukit Selambau seat fell vacant in Kedah, the Islamist party wanted to go for it but out of respect for PKR, the party stepped aside for the latter.

He also pointed out that when Shamsul (left), contested the Tangga Batu parliamentary seat in Malacca in 2004, his party had given way for him even though traditionally PAS had been quite strong there.

Similarly, he said, when Shamsul was a candidate for a seat in Terengganu during the March 8, 2008 polls, which  had been initially slated for PAS.

"Hence, Shamsul should respect the status quo of what had been decided before," he added.

Merlimau stronger potential for PAS

The Merlimau state seat fell vacant following the sudden death of its assemblyperson Mohd Hidhir Abu Hassan on Thursday from a heart attack.

This will be the 15th by-election with the Election Commission set to announce both the nomination and polling dates tomorrow.

Abdul Ghani (right) said the Merlimau state seat holds a better potential for PAS compared to Tenang.

"We are identifying the right candidates following recent meetings".

In the last general elections, PAS put up its Jasin division chief Jasme Tompang as its candidate.

Asked on the possibility of Jasme being named as the candidate again, Abdul Ghani said it is a possibility, but others are also under consideration.

PKR officials were unavailable for comment.

BN identify four candidates

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional and Umno are said to have shortlisted at least four names to contest for the Merlimau state seat in Malacca.

This follows a meeting held last Friday and Saturday night chaired by Jasin Umno division chief Ahmad Hamzah, who is also Jasin MP.

Ahmad however, refused to divulge details of the meeting or who are the candidates shortlisted, and only said that it would hold further meetings on the matter.

“We are concentrating on making the preparations first,” he told Malaysiakini today.

It is learnt seven names including the deputy division chief Mohd Said Yusof (left), the former controversial Jasin MP, were on the initial list. Others included the division Umno Youth chief Zaidi Atan and division Puteri chief Siti Faizah Abdul Aziz. However, it is learnt their names had been dropped as they do not stay within the Merlimau constituency.

According to a source, the four names shortlisted included its Wanita chief Zaleha Bujang, and Jasin Umno committee member Nasir Bazid. Nasir, a lab assistant, is the coordinator for the Merlimau constituency and is said to be a front-runner. Others mentioned included Mohd Nasser Selamat and Roslan Ahmad, who are both Jasin Umno committee members.

Mohd Nasser is the Malacca Customary Land Corporation chairperson while Roslan is the chairperson of the state-owned Syarikat Permodalan Melaka Sdn Bhd.

However, it is learnt that as both held senior post in state government agencies, they would be unlikely to be posted as candidates. Malacca also has two Wanita Umno assemblypersons namely Latifah Omar (Tabuh Naning) and Norpipah Abdol (Rembia).