PAS to defend 37 seats in Kelantan, Bersatu to contest 8

Kelantan PAS public relations bureau secretary Wan Roslan Wan Hamat says the next move is for divisions and branches to name their candidates.

(FMT) – The distribution of seats by Perikatan Nasional (PN) for the Kelantan state polls will see PAS defending its 37 seats while Bersatu will defend one and contest in the remaining seven currently held by Barisan Nasional (BN), says a state PAS leader.

Kelantan PAS public relations bureau secretary Wan Roslan Wan Hamat said seat negotiations have been “essentially finalised” and the next move was for the selection of candidates, Berita Harian reported.

“We have now requested the state constituencies or the branches to name the candidate who they believe to be the best choice and someone the people will favour,” he was quoted as saying.

In February, FMT reported that Bersatu would be given priority to contest the eight state assembly seats in Kelantan that were won by BN in the 2018 general election (GE14).

Kelantan Bersatu chief Kamaruddin Nor said this decision was agreed to by Bersatu and PAS after taking into consideration the fact that PAS had won 37 of the 45 state assembly seats in GE14.

Wan Roslan, who is also state youth development, sports and NGO committee chairman, said any candidate selected by PAS would ultimately be based on recommendations from the Council of Ulama (Religious Scholars), which will evaluate them.

When asked if any candidate intended to withdraw from defending their seat, Wan Roslan acknowledged that there were some, including himself and Kelantan menteri besar Ahmad Yakob, but they would have to respect the party’s decision if chosen to be a candidate.

“That is our strength with candidates being determined and nominated by the party. This approach conveys a good message and prioritises service to the people.

“That is the PAS concept, which is why there are no candidates causing trouble,” he said.