WE ARE READY: Muhyiddin (left) with Tengku Zaihan (second left), Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said and Umno secretary general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor (right) in high spirit after launching the BN election machinery and announcing the name of its candidate at Dataran Kuala Besut. — Bernama photo
KUALA BESUT: The Barisan Nasional (BN) has chosen Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman, 37, a civil engineer with the Drainage and Irrigation Department and who hails from Kuala Besut, to be its candidate for the Kuala Besut by-election on July 24.
Announcing this here yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the choice of Tengku Zaihan, who hails from Kampung Nail in Kuala Besut, was well received at all levels.
“For us (BN), this young candidate is well accepted by party members because he his very close to the people (in Kuala Besut),” he said when launching the BN election machinery and announcing the name of its candidate at Dataran Kuala Besut here.
Muhyiddin, who is also the BN’s election director for the by-election, said it was extremely significant as the future of the BN in Terengganu lay in the hands of voters in Kuala Besut.
He said it was they who would determine whether the transformation agenda brought about by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would continue to be enjoyed by the people in Terengganu.
“A win in Kuala Besut will be the determining factor to ensure Terengganu continues to move in tandem with the federal government and this is why the BN’s position in the state must be further strengthened. Victory in this by-election will be very significant,” he said.
He said besides winning, the BN also wanted to further increase its majority from the 2,434-vote majority its candidate, the late Dr A Rahman Mokhtar, obtained for the seat in the 13th General Election (GE13) on May 5.
Muhyiddin also said Ramadan would pose no obstacle for campaigning and in fact it would give the coalition a good platform to serve the people as demanded by Islam.
The by-election is called due to the death of Dr A Rahman. He died on June 26 due to cancer.
Dr A Rahman defeated PAS candidate Napisah Ismail in the contest for the Kuala Besut seat in GE13. He garnered 8,809 votes while Napisah obtained 6,375 votes.
Nomination is in July 12.
This by-election is very significant because the BN controls 17 seats in the 32 seat state assembly. — Bernama