BUKIT MERTAJAM: Permatang Pauh Umno has submitted three names as potential candidates to be fielded by Barisan Nasional (BN) for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.
Its chief, Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said, said he had submitted the names to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also BN chairman, during their four-eye meeting at the Parliament House yesterday.
“I have also explained to the prime minister about our request to have a local, a Permatang Pauh-born candidate. He asked me to name a few.
“However, no decision was made so far. I have given my opinion and now, it is up to the leadership to decide. We will accept whoever is selected,” he told reporters here yesterday.
The Permatang Pauh seat was declared vacant after its incumbent, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament since March 16 after the Pardons Board rejected a petition for a royal pardon sought by the Opposition Leader’s family over his conviction for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Anwar is currently serving his five-year jail sentence at the Sungai Buloh Prison.
The Election Commission will convene a special meeting on April 8 regarding the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election. — Bernama