Nasharuddin not among PAS candidates

(The Star) – Nasharuddin Mat Isa’s chances of defending the Bachok parliamentary seat are as good as gone.

The controversial former PAS deputy president’s name is not in the list of contenders for the seat, said Kelantan PAS deputy commissioner II Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.

“I have received information that Nasharuddin’s name is not in the list of those nominated for the seat,” he said at a Hari Raya gathering here.

He added that it had also come to his attention that Nasharuddin’s name had not been mentioned at the grassroots level in Bachok.

He added, however, that the PAS central committee would decide on Nasharuddin’s fate.

The MP’s fallout with PAS and spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat started after the 2004 general election when then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi led the Barisan Nasional to a landslide win.

Nasharuddin, at that time, was accused of trying to engineer a “unity government” with Umno. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Barisan’s Datuk Awang Adek Husin to take the seat.

Matters got to head a year later when Nik Aziz, who is Kelantan mentri besar, demanded that Nasharuddin quit as Bachok MP and join Umno if he persisted on the unity government agenda.

Nasharuddin’s political mettle was again tested when he was accused of being in the “good books” of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when they met in Medina.

A meeting by the Syura council on Sept 9 will either make or break the deadlock that is crucial to Nasharuddin’s future in the party.

However, PAS Ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib said the syura council would unlikely give in to pressure from certain quarters to kick Nasharuddin out of the party.

“Whether Nasharuddin would still be fielded as a candidate in the next election is immaterial.

“The party needs his energy and ideas,” he said.

Harun said the list of candidates had not been officially confirmed.

“Even if Nasharuddin is not fielded in the next general election, he is still a potential candidate for following elections,” he said.