PAS' decision to contest is final, should not be disputed - Party VP

PAS' decision to contest in the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat by-election on June 18 is final and should not be disputed by any party, said PAS vice-president Datuk Iskandar Abdul Samad.

He said this was because Sungai Besar was traditionally a PAS-held seat and the party would definitely be fielding its candidate, although Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) claimed that negotiations on the issue of candidates were still on-going.

"I am confident that the PAS election machinery and party members will fully be focusing on this by-election and will not entertain issues raised to distract us," he said after launching a gotong-royong programme and Kampung Baru Hicom People's Housing Apartment Project, here, today.

He was asked by reporters to comment on PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali's stated willingness to meet with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to discuss the issue of candidates for the Sungai Besar by-election.

The Sungai Besar by-election will be held following the death of its incumbent MP Datuk Noriah Kasnon, who was also Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister, in a helicopter crash in Sebuyau, Sarawak, on May 5.

On claims that PAS state executive councillors should resign if the party insisted on contesting in the by-electon, Iskandar said what was important was that Mohamad Azmin, who is also Selangor Menteri Besar, had decided that they remain in the state's administration.