FORMER Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor has been named as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the Kemaman parliamentary by-election in Terengganu, slated for December 2.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced the name of the coalition’s candidate at Menara Dato’ Onn in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said Affandi, 66, was selected upon agreement from Umno and BN leadership in a bid to wrest back the Kemaman parliamentary seat for BN.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling date for the by-election on December 2, while nomination takes place on November 18 and early voting on November 28.
The by-election was called after the Terengganu election court nullified the victory of Che Alias Hamid of PAS, who had been declared the winner of the Kemaman parliamentary seat in the 15th general election last year.
Meanwhile, Affandi, who served in the Malaysian Armed Forces for almost 40 years, described his candidacy as a call of duty and would do his level best to win back the Kemaman seat for BN.
“I thought long and hard about this offer... I think it’s about time for me to give back what I’ve gained for the past 40 years to the country, especially to Kemaman (Umno),” he said.
This is not the first time for BN to field a direct candidate for a by-election as the coalition had done the same when it fielded Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor as a direct candidate in the Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election in January 2019. – Bernama, November 13, 2023
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