Tanjong Karang a PN ‘fixed deposit’, says Bersatu leader

Nurul Syazwani Noh, who leads the division, is confident that the opposition coalition would easily win the seat should a by-election be held there.

(FMT) – A Bersatu leader claims the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat in Selangor, previously an Umno stronghold, is now considered a “fixed deposit” for Perikatan Nasional (PN).

She was also confident that the opposition would easily win the seat should a by-election be held there.

Nurul Syazwani Noh, who is leading the Bersatu Tanjung Karang division currently, said the coalition’s victory there is assured based on the majority of over 8,000 votes it previously obtained in the two state seats there – Permatang and Sungai Burong.

“PN will ensure its victory in Tanjong Karang, given PN’s victory in the two state seats there. We have a fixed deposit of over 8,000 votes if a by-election is held,” the Permatang assemblyman told FMT, adding that she expects Umno members to shift their support to PN.

The parliamentary constituency will likely see a by-election if its MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi’s membership in Bersatu is automatically terminated should he fail to answer the notice issued by the party earlier this month. The two-week deadline to respond to the notice sent to all of the party’s elected representatives ends today.

However, Zulkafperi, one of six Bersatu MPs who had declared their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, has reiterated that he remains loyal to Bersatu.

The party had issued a notice on May 17 demanding that they rescind their support for the prime minister and confirm their loyalty to the party within 14 days.

Party secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said failure to respond within this period would result in their membership being revoked.

The 15th general election (GE15) saw Tanjong Karang fall into PN’s hands when Zulkafperi won with a majority of 2,180 votes.

Bersatu’s victory then was seen to be linked to the fact that Umno dropped its six-term incumbent Noh Omar as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in favour of Habibah Yusof.

In the state elections last August, BN lost Sungai Burong to PN, which also snatched the Permatang state seat from PKR.

Nurul defeated Pakatan Harapan candidate Yahya Mat Sahri by 1,728 votes in Permatang, while Bersatu’s Zamri Zainuldin defeated BN’s Khir Ramli with a 6,842-vote majority in Sungai Burong.

She said her task now is to reorganise the party machinery there, as Zulkafperi had not accomplished much at the division’s helm.

“We consider his jumping to the other side a blessing. Previously, he did not do much as a division chief, and it was difficult for us to get moving,” she said.

PAS or Bersatu in Tanjong Karang?

Nurul said the Tanjong Karang division is open to any decision the PN leadership makes on its candidate for the constituency should a by-election be held soon.

However, she did not discount the possibility that the PN leadership would make party incumbency the main criterion for its choice of candidate.

“On the face of it, this is a Bersatu seat, but we will leave it to the leadership,” she said.

Recently, PAS spiritual adviser Hashim Jasin expressed the party’s wish to represent PN should by-elections be called in the six parliamentary seats and one state seat held by the Bersatu representatives supporting Anwar’s administration.

Besides Zulkafperi, the six Bersatu MPs who have declared their support for Anwar are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), and Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan).

Selat Klang assemblyman Abdul Rashid Asari has declared his support for menteri besar Amirudin Shari’s administration.