Permatang Pauh's defeated Umno candidate in the last two elections Pirdaus Ismail said he was ready to face Anwar Ibrahim in the by-election for the seat if the party decided to field him.

permatang pauh election results 310708"At the same time, if there is another candidate, I will give all my support for that candidate," he said.

He told Malaysiakini that BN stands a chance of finally wrestling the seat away from PKR in the upcoming by-election.

According to Pirdaus, the incumbent MP for the seat, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, had failed to serve the people of the constituency which she had held since 1999.

Wan Azizah yesterday vacated the seat to pave way for her husband Anwar Ibrahim to contest in a by-election which will be held in the next 60 days.

Pirdaus lost by a whopping 13,388 votes in the last election. He fared better in 2004 when he was narrowly defeated by Wan Azizah by 590 votes.

[More to follow]