Amanah will contest by-elections if unity govt agrees, says Mat Sabu

The Amanah president says his party is inclined to give way to incumbent parties to contest seats, but ‘this is not our final stance’.

(FMT) – Amanah is prepared to contest in any by-election if it gets the green light from the unity government, says its president, Mohamad Sabu.

He said that in general, Amanah is inclined to give way to incumbent parties to contest seats they previously held.

“However, this is not our final stance.

“We are ready to stand in any by-election if agreed upon by the unity government’s component parties,” Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said in a statement today.

He said Amanah is committed to strengthening relations among the unity government’s component parties to achieve success in the 16th general election.

However, he said, the unity government’s top leaders have yet to discuss seat allocations for the next elections.

His statement comes after Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced on Tuesday that a BN candidate would be contesting the Mahkota state seat in Johor as the unity government’s representative.

The by-election follows the death of the Umno assemblyman, Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, on Aug 2 while receiving treatment in hospital for internal bleeding. She was 63.

Zahid, who is also the Umno president, warned other unity government coalition partners not to demand to contest seats previously held by other parties.

Kluang Amanah chief Zuhan Zain had previously lobbied for the Mahkota seat, prompting brickbats from several Umno leaders.

After Zahid’s statement, Zuhan said no final decision has been made regarding which party will represent the unity coalition in the Mahkota by-election, telling FMT that leaders of the parties in the federal government have yet to discuss the matter.

The Mahkota by-election will be held on Sept 28, with nominations set for Sept 14 and early voting on Sept 24.