Saturday 16 August 2008

Permatang Pauh: It’s a three-cornered fight


It will be a three-corner fight among Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah of Barisan Nasional (BN), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) president Hanafi Mamat for the Permatang Pauh Parlliamentary by=election on Aug 26.

Returning officer Roslan Yahaya announced the candidates at the nomination centre at the Tuanku Bainun Teaching Institute here at 11.45am after the objection period ended at 11am.

He said five objections were received but none of the nominations was rejected.

Asked by reporters later about the nomination of a fourth candidate, Dr Mansor Othman, former Penang PKR chairman, he said Dr Mansor withdrew his nomination without giving any reason before the candidates were announced.

However, he lost his deposit because he withdrew after the nomination period ended at 10am, Roslan said."Any candidate can withdraw his nomination within the next three days," he added.

According to
Malaysiakini his candidacy was part of a PKR contingency plan in the event of Anwar's nomination being rejected.


As it stands now, PKR's Anwar looks a sure bet to win this seat which was vacated by his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on July 31. It was a move to get Anwar back into Parliament after an absence of 10 years.(BN expects a tough fight but BN confident of victory: read here )

His most potent challenger is still BN's Arif Shah Omar Shah, a local man just like Anwar, as well as the incumbent Seberang Jaya state representative.The third candidate is Hanafi Hamat, the president of PAS splinter party Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim).

Arif Shah, 51, was the first to submit his nomination form.Dressed in a yellow baju Melayu, he was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to the nomination centre at Dewan Aminuddin Baki of the Tuanku Bainun Teaching Institute.

He submitted his nomination papers to returning officer Roslan Yahaya as soon as the centre opened at 9am.He was followed by Anwar who wore a light blue baju Melayu.

The opposition icon once again exuded confidence in winning the seat as he entered the nomination centre at about 9.05am

"I feel good", Anwar replied when asked by Malaysiakini how he felt about contesting again after 10 years in hiatus.

Senior to Arif Shah by 10 years, Anwar was the Permatang Pauh division chief at the time the former was its youth chief.

At the nomination centre today, the former deputy premier looked cheerful in the presence of his wife, children, Pakatan leaders and thousands of his supporters.

Also present was PAS' spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who despite being unwell still insisted on being there.

BN also had a strong presence. Seen lending their support today were Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who is also Penang BN chairperson, MIC president S Samy Vellu, MCA vice-president Ong Tee Keat, BN Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein, Wanita Umno vice-head Shahrizat Jalil and Umno information head Muhammad Muhamad Taib. - malaysiakini

More reports on nomination day go here, here and here .

Picture : Courtesy of the Star: The BN Candidate Arif Shah (left) shaking hands with PKR candidate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (right) and Independent candidate Hanafi Hamat,61, (centre) looks on after completing their nomination at Maktab Perguruan Tuanku Bainun in Mengkuang, Bukit Mertajam, Saturday.

8 comments:

mn said...

Salam Kak Maria,

1. Apa khabar.

2. Saya nak inform kak Maria, saya telah 'linking' blog kak Maria dalam blog saya. No problemkan?

3.Tq Kak Maria

mn said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
maria a samad (kak ton) said...

wa alaikum salam sukj,

Alhamdulillah khabar baik.

No problem, Thank you for the linkup.

Salam.

Anonymous said...

I read at Uncle Kit's blog that the turn-out of people in suppoort of Anwar was overwwhelming and if the PP by-election is judged by the turn-out on nomination day, the de facto PKR leader would "win hands down".

Way to go bro Anwar!

Anonymous said...

Anwar's reminder that Barisan Pakatan supporters must not be complacent must be taken seriously.

Anwar can win hands down, that is for sure, in a by-election that is conducted in a fair manner.

But we know the BN has a wholet list of dirty tricks it can use against Anwar, the latest being the sworn oath on the Quran by Saiful on the eve of nomination.

Despite his denial, we can conclude that Saiful has been put up by the powers that be to discredit Anwar.

But judging from the turnout yesterday, Saiful's latest act seemed to have backfired.

Dont think the majority of the voters will buy that.

Unknown said...

"Bahawa Dengan nama Allah saya bersumpah saya tidak
melakukan perbuatan terkutuk ifu. Dan ini semua adalah fitnah
dan tohmahan jahat untuk terus menghina dan mengaibkan
Seisikeluarga Saya" - Batu Pahat, Johor Darul Takzim 19 September 1998
_petikan dari cover BUKU SUMPAH dan AIR MATA Reformis Bangsa oleh Mohd sayuti Omar
terbitan tinta merah Kuala Lumpur 1958.

Anonymous said...

Diharap pengundi di Permatang Pauh bijak membuat keputusan. Jangan hanya kerana simpati dan mendengar percakapan orang yang pandai berbicara je mempengaruhi keputusan.

Anonymous said...

Jangan terpengaruh dengan isu-isu yang dijaja hanya untuk medapat kan undi simpati. Kalau nak simpati-simpati baik tak payah.