Arau seat: PN welcomes any winnable candidate - Abdul Hadi

ALOR SETAR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) welcomes anyone who wants to support or join the coalition in the 15th General Election (GE15), according to its deputy chairman Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Abdul Hadi, who is also PAS president, said since Malaysian politics is quite dynamic, the doors are open to any prospective candidate capable of winning a seat for PN and realising the coalition's theme of 'Clean and Stable'.

"The names of prospective candidates can change at any time before the nomination day," he told reporters after the announcement of PN candidates for Kedah parliamentary seats last night.

He said this in response to the speculation that PN might offer incumbent Member of Parliament for Arau Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who was dropped from the Barisan Nasional (BN) list of candidates, to contest on PN's ticket in the GE15.

Earlier yesterday, Perlis PN chairman Mohd Syukri Ramli was reported to have informed Pas and PN leadership of Shahidan's intention to defend the seat.

PN has announced that it will contest 169 parliamentary in the GE15, of which Bersatu will vie for 74 seats, PAS (64), Gerakan (20) and affiliated groups (11).

For state seats in Pahang, Perlis and Perak, PAS will contest 57 seats, Bersatu (41), Gerakan (14) and affiliated groups (four).

The Election Commission has set Nov 5 for nomination, Nov 15 for early voting and Nov 19 for polling.

-- BERNAMA