‘PKR candidacy for Permatang Pauh not exclusive to Anwar’s family’
(The Rakyat Post) – The PKR candidacy for the Permatang Pauh by-election should not be exclusive for the family of the party’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian (pic) said PKR had several choices in Penang from among younger candidates who were able to gain support from voters.
Former Balik Pulau Member of Parliament Yusmadi Yusoff is seen as among the possible names to be suggested to the PKR leadership for the Permatang Pauh by-election.
“Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Arif Bahardin who is also the state Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health executive committee chairman is also among the potential candidates.
“As such, PKR should be able to field anyone other than its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Nuha Anwar to contest the Permatang Pauh by-election which is also a PKR stronghold,” he said when contacted by The Rakyat Post.
Yusmadi, a lawyer, had won the Balik Pulau parliamentary constituency in the 2008 General Election under PKR with a majority of 708 votes.
He obtained 15,749 votes to defeat Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Dr Norraesah Mohamad who received 15,041 votes.
He was not retained to defend the seat which was subsequently lost to Barisan in the last General Election.
Sivamurugan, who is a lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia, added that PKR stood a good chance of retaining the seat.
He said Anwar’s family in Permatang Pauh and the strong support base together with the sympathetic sentiments were PKR’s strength.
Anwar is currently serving a five-year prison term after a five-man bench led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria found Anwar guilty of having carnal intercourse with his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
On April 2, Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Datuk Ismail Mohamed Said read out the official statement by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia on Anwar’s disqualification as Member of Parliament effective March 16, following the rejection of his petition for royal pardon.
