Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin has named former Pahang deputy menteri besar Hasan Arifin as BN's candidate for the upcoming Rompin by-election.

 

Muhyiddin announced Hassan, who is also Rompin Umno division acting chief, during a ceremony today at BN's by-election operations centre in the constituency.

 

"Hasan is most suitable and qualified to contest as the BN representative in the Rompin parliamentary (seat) due to many factors, including his vast experience in the business of the party and government," Muhyiddin was quoted as saying by Bernama today.

 

Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister, said BN wanted an experienced political figure who is familiar to the people of Rompin.

 

The Rompin by-election, scheduled for May 5, is being held following the death of incumbent Jamaluddin Jarjis early this month, in a helicopter crash in Semenyih, Selangor.

 

At the 13th general election in May 2013, Jamaluddin, who was also the 1Malaysia People's Housing (PR1MA) chairperson, retained the seat he had held for 23 years, when he defeated former PAS women's wing chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh with a majority of 15,114 votes.

 

Jamaluddin was seen as a member of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's inner circle. Najib's chief of staff Azlin Alias was also killed in the helicopter crash.

 

The loss of two key members of Najib's inner circle comes at a time when the still influential former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is maneuvering to oust him.

 

Najib's man

 

The 62-year-old Hasan is seen as the prime minister's man, having started his Umno career in Pekan which is now held by Najib.

 

Hassan joined Umno in 1976, the same year Najib became Pekan MP. He rose to become Pekan Umno division committee member two years later.

 

According to Bernama , Hasan then became Pekan Umno Youth chief in 1984 before moving to Rompin, where he was elected in the same position two years later.

 

Subsequently, he led the Rompin Umno division from 1990 to 2004.

 

Between 1995 and 1999, Hasan also served as Pahang deputy menteri besar and was a state assemblyperson in Bukit Ibam, a state seat within the Rompin parliamentary constituency.

 

Being a veteran politician in Rompin, Hasan is expected to give PAS a difficult fight, which is expected to name its own candidate on April 20.

 

The Rompin by-election is fixed for May 5, with nomination day set on April 22.

 

While the odds are already heavily stacked in Umno's favour, the party has moved to choose a well-known candidate in a bid to bolster its strong majority.

Any decline in performance may give further ammunition for Mahathir, who has publicly claimed that Umno will lose in the general election if Najib remains the party president.