KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for the Tioman state seat has denied making way for Barisan Nasional (BN) as he has yet to receive any directives from the leadership.
In a Facebook post, PH’s Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly said he was shocked to read that he will give way to the BN candidate in Tioman.
“I’m still the PH candidate for the Tioman (N42) state seat. My name is still on the ballot.
“So far, the (PH) presidential council has yet to issue any directives on the matter.
“I hope my statement is read in full and not just the headlines.”
Earlier, Bernama reported that Fadzli was ready to make way for BN candidate Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Hussain, if directed by the coalition’s top leadership.
Fadzli said the matter had been discussed at the PH presidential council level taking into account the current political situation at the central and Pahang assembly level, but no decision had been made so far.
“Perhaps after this, there will be further discussion about seat negotiations involving the Padang Serai (parliamentary seat) and the Tioman state seat because Padang Serai is important for us to increase our numbers in Parliament. However, the Tioman state seat is no less important.
“So far, I have not been informed of any directive, especially from the presidential council about our position here. So, we will conduct our campaign as usual,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
The 15th general election (GE15) results saw BN winning 16 seats in Pahang, one seat behind Perikatan Nasional (PN) while PH secured eight seats, which resulted in a hung state assembly as no party or coalition obtained a simple majority of 22 seats.
Even though he is ready to make way, Fadzli wants the BN candidate to give assurance that he will solve the problems faced by the Tioman islanders, especially involving water, land and infrastructure.
However, Fadzli said that he has yet to meet Johari, who is the incumbent Tioman assemblyman, to discuss the matter.
Polling for the Tioman state seat for GE15 was postponed following the death of PN candidate Md Yunus Ramli on polling day (November 19).
Apart from Fadzli and Johari, other candidates vying to win the Tioman state seat are PN candidate Nor Idayu Hashim, Osman A. Bakar (Pejuang) and Sulaiman Bakar (independent). – The Vibes, November 26, 2022
