Permatang Pauh UMNO submits two names to party leadership

Permatang Pauh UMNO has submitted two names for the party leadership to consider as a candidate in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.

The division's chief Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said said the two nominees are locals and new faces.

"We in Permatang Pauh are unanimous in our selection and leave it to the party leadership to pick the best candidate for Barisan Nasional (BN).

"Earlier in our discussion the party leadership appeared to agree with our choice of the two nominees.

"And I am confident that the party machinery will not face any problem with whoever is chosen to be the candidate. Our target is to win the by-election this time," he said.

Mohd Zaidi was met by reporters after the presentation of 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) to 2,311 recipients at the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency here today.

The Permatang Pauh seat fell vacant after its representative Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was disqualified when he failed to get a royal pardon for his sodomy conviction.

The PKR adviser is currently serving five years at the Sungai Buloh Prison for sodomising his personal assistant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The Election Commission has set April 25 for nomination and May 3 for early voting while polling would be on May 7.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zaidi said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who is also Umno deputy president would reveal the name of the BN candidate on April 23.

"The party machinery is ready with its strategy for the campaign, including wooing Chinese and Indian voters," he said.

At the 2013 general election, Anwar staved off the challenge by BN candidate Dr Mazlan Ismail to retain the seat with a majority of 11,721 votes.