KUALA LUMPUR – Pejuang’s candidate for the Tg Karang parliamentary seat, Azlan Sani Zawawi never declared himself to be a graduate from University of Tasmania, Australia.
Explaining the confusion, Azlan, better known as Lando Zawawi, said that he is still a final-year student and has not completed his studies.
According to Lando, he was accepted to pursue his studies at the university in 1996 after completing his Australian Matriculation in Malaysia.
“1996 was the first year I studied at the University of Tasmania. I continued my studies in the Bachelor of Arts and Psychology/Sociology.
“However, in my final year I was forced to return back to Malaysia as there were family problems that required me to return home immediately, so my studies have been delayed since then,” he told Getaran.
The founder of the non-governmental organisation Ikatan Silaturahim Brotherhood (Brotherhood) said he mentioned the university’s name when he was asked to provide his highest education background by Pejuang representatives to be listed as a profile.
He explained the reason for saying that was because he was still a student at the university.
“I did not state that I was a Bachelor of Arts, instead gave the university’s name as the highest education.
“So it does not arise that I cheated and so on,” he said.
Lando’s response when asked to comment on the criticism of a few parties that questioned his credibility, including allegations that he was lying.
Once returning to Malaysia, Lando said he had the desire to return to Australia and finish his studies but had to postpone it after being ‘tied’ to famous director and producer, Datuk Yusof Haslam for 15 years.
“I was with Skop Productions for 15 years and later founded Brotherhood, so I decided to postpone my desire to graduate due to time constraints and responsibilities,” he said.
Lando explained that he was supposed to fly to Australia in 2020 and intended to complete his delayed studies, in addition to managing the businesses he owns in Perth, Australia.
“But we can only plan. In 2020, the whole world was in lockdown due to Covid-19 so the desire was once again stunted and now I am also involved in the political world as well.
“So now, I want to emphasise that I am a student at the University of Tasmania but have not yet completed my studies and have never stated that I am a graduate of the university,” he added.
The Tg Karang Parliament seat is set for a five-cornered clash in GE15.
Apart from Lando, also competing for the seat are Mohd Rosni Mastol (Independent), Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Perikatan Nasional), Siti Rahayu Baharin (Pakatan Harapan), and Datuk Habibah Mohd Yusof (Barisan Nasional).
The parliamentary seat in question is held by the Selangor Umno liaison committee chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar who has maintained an unbeaten record for six terms, starting in 1995.
Even though he obtained a majority of 1,970 votes in the 14th general election, he was dropped from the BN candidate’s list for the 15th general election.
The latest statistics from the Election Commission recorded that Tanjong Karang has 62,194 registered voters. – The Vibes, November 10, 2022.
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