Local man Fauzi is PAS candidate for Manek Urai

By Adib Zalkapli, The Malaysian Insider

Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, a local fish wholesaler, was named PAS candidate for the Manek Urai by-election scheduled for next month.

The 50-year-old was described by Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who made the announcement tonight, as the most suitable candidate to replace the popular five-term assemblyman Ismail Yaacob.

The announcement was made at a public rally in the state constituency before thousands of supporters.

Party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was also present at the rally, in what is an attempt to prove that PAS remains united despite recent public disagreements between senior leaders over the issue of political cooperation with Umno.

Hadi’s presence also put an end to speculation that he was banned from campaigning in the Manek Urai by-election for favouring unity talks with Umno.

Umno is expected to name its candidate tomorrow.

The election was called following the death of Ismail Yaacob in May.

Nomination is set for July 6 while polling will be held on July 14.

Ismail, also known as Pak Su Wei, first won the seat in 1986. In last year’s general election, he defeated Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Zulkepli Omar by 1,352 votes.

He did not contest the 2004 election when Zulkepli won by 53 votes.

Manek Urai, which is about two-hour’s drive from Kota Baru, comprises an electorate that is almost exclusively Malay, with other races making up less than one per cent of the 12,292 voters.

A largely forested area, Manek Urai is one of the four state seats in the Kuala Krai parliamentary constituency.

The other three are Mengkebang, Guchil and Dabong.

The last by-election in Kelantan was held in 2005 for the Pengkalan Pasir state constituency, which saw BN wresting the seat from PAS.