Permatang Pauh UMNO names three potential candidates for by-election

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 on Friday.

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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.

In the 2013 general election, Anwar retained the Permatang Pauh seat by defeating BN's Dr Mazlan Ismail by 11,721-vote majority.