by MANZAIDI MOHD AMIN - 22 Jul 2013
KUALA LUMPUR – This Wednesday sees fierce competition between candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pas in the by-elections for the Kuala Besut state-seat (DUN).
Pas has been working extremely hard from the beginning in fishing for votes at every ballot box to ensure victory for their candidate, Endot@Azlan Yusof, hence depriving BN’s right as the ruling party after an easy majority win at the recent 13th General Elections (GE13).
However, when posed with the chances of a Pas victory in Kuala Besut, the opposition coalition’s strongman Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has his own views.
He said Pas will never win, and what was certain is the party has to face with stark difficulties since the battle is at UMNO’s long-time stronghold.
“For Pas to win is difficult. How can Pas win? This is a by-election where Kuala Besut and the district of Besut itself is an UMNO stronghold. So the hope for Pas to win is pretty difficult,” he said when met by MalaysiaGazette at his home in Tropicana Golf Resort, Petaling Jaya.
Zaid was asked to comment on the on-on-one fight between the BN candidate, Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman and Endot whom the locals in Kuala Besut refer to as Che Long.
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed Wednesday as polling day and the announcement of results is expected to be done before 10pm.
When asked should the result lead to a 16 – 16 situation, Zaid who is the former President of Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) said that based on a parliamentary democracy, His Highness the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin should then dissolve DUN and SPR would have to call for a state election.
He remarked that that should be the actual political resolution, but that will never happen when it is possible for the central government to use other means to retain the existing ruling party.
“If the seat allocation between Pas and Terengganu BN become 16 – 16, according to a parliamentary democracy, His Highness the Sultan of Terengganu should dissolve the assembly, but the Malaysian political resolution will never go that way,” he said.
When asked if he has retired from politics, Zaid clarified that he is no longer a member in any political parties since early in the year, but he will continue to campaign for the opposition coalition if asked.
He said his interest in politics is still there but his intention to quit is strong, while he occasionally focused on writing blogs, completing his book and texts of speeches when invited to speak at ceramahs either by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or Pas.
“If PKR or Pas invite me to help them campaign whether at the by-election or general election, I will go. But I also have to see, when they invite or ask me, what do they want me to speak on,” he said.
Note: MalaysiaGazette will air the exclusive interview with Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
KUALA LUMPUR – This Wednesday sees fierce competition between candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pas in the by-elections for the Kuala Besut state-seat (DUN).
Pas has been working extremely hard from the beginning in fishing for votes at every ballot box to ensure victory for their candidate, Endot@Azlan Yusof, hence depriving BN’s right as the ruling party after an easy majority win at the recent 13th General Elections (GE13).
However, when posed with the chances of a Pas victory in Kuala Besut, the opposition coalition’s strongman Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has his own views.
He said Pas will never win, and what was certain is the party has to face with stark difficulties since the battle is at UMNO’s long-time stronghold.
“For Pas to win is difficult. How can Pas win? This is a by-election where Kuala Besut and the district of Besut itself is an UMNO stronghold. So the hope for Pas to win is pretty difficult,” he said when met by MalaysiaGazette at his home in Tropicana Golf Resort, Petaling Jaya.
Zaid was asked to comment on the on-on-one fight between the BN candidate, Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman and Endot whom the locals in Kuala Besut refer to as Che Long.
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed Wednesday as polling day and the announcement of results is expected to be done before 10pm.
When asked should the result lead to a 16 – 16 situation, Zaid who is the former President of Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) said that based on a parliamentary democracy, His Highness the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin should then dissolve DUN and SPR would have to call for a state election.
He remarked that that should be the actual political resolution, but that will never happen when it is possible for the central government to use other means to retain the existing ruling party.
“If the seat allocation between Pas and Terengganu BN become 16 – 16, according to a parliamentary democracy, His Highness the Sultan of Terengganu should dissolve the assembly, but the Malaysian political resolution will never go that way,” he said.
When asked if he has retired from politics, Zaid clarified that he is no longer a member in any political parties since early in the year, but he will continue to campaign for the opposition coalition if asked.
He said his interest in politics is still there but his intention to quit is strong, while he occasionally focused on writing blogs, completing his book and texts of speeches when invited to speak at ceramahs either by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or Pas.
“If PKR or Pas invite me to help them campaign whether at the by-election or general election, I will go. But I also have to see, when they invite or ask me, what do they want me to speak on,” he said.
Note: MalaysiaGazette will air the exclusive interview with Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
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