KOTA BAHARU, March 11 – The Chempaka by-election which was expected to be a tame affair has taken an interesting twist after four independent candidates joined in to contest along with PAS.
Who are these independent candidates who are so eager to serve the voters in Chenmpaka state constituency?
The four independent candidates are Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary, 48; Sharif Mahmood,59, former Kelantan Perkasa vice-president, Fadzillah Hussin,55; Pertubuhan Keturunan Paduka Raja Cik Siti Wan Kembang president and Aslah Mamat,64, a Ministry of Health retiree.
They are not from any big political party. Two of them aren’t even directly involved in the political arena anymore.
They will face Ahmad Fathan Mahmood@Mahamad,42, the Chempaka PAS Ulama Affairs chief, in a five-cornered fight.
The by-election on March 22 is held following the death of Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat of PAS on Feb 12.
The former Kelantan menteri besar died of prostrate cancer.
The voters feel that two of the independents, namely Sharif and Fadzillah have an aura of their own to challenge the PAS candidate although they are no longer directly involved with Kelantan politics.
Sharif, who hails from Kampung Bunut Payong is not unknown to people in Kota Baharu from his struggles for the Malayw while he was actively involved with Kelantan Perkasa several years back.
Although Sharif has just appeared in Kota Baharu after four years as Public Relations Officer at Southern Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) in Gua Musang, he is still said to hold some influence.
This is because he had previously served as vice-chairman of Gua Musang Umno division but he was sacked as party member after the cleaning-up process by the party two years ago.
Coupled with his 30 years of experience as a civil servant in Kelantan, Sharif can become Ahmad Fathan’s strongest contender.
Businesswoman Fadzillah is also seen by locals as a capable contender in the by-election although she has no experience in the political arena.
She established two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Kelantan, namely Pertubuhan Keturunan Paduka Raja Cik Siti Wan Kembang Malaysia and Kelab Bumi Rahmat Kelantan.
During a press conference in 2013, Fadzillah claimed her NGOs had about 15,000 members across the country.
Businessman Izat Bukhary is the former independent candidate for Pengkalan Kubor during the 13th general election (GE13) and the by-election last year.
Although he only received 65 votes in the GE13 and 38 votes in Pengkalan Kubor by-election, Izat Bukhary has never grown tired and had built up his profile.
The final candidate Aslah was a PAS member in Pasir Puteh before exiting the party, and is now rumoured to be with Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA).
Political analyst Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff does not expect sympathy votes to help the PAS candidate as he is not a family member of Nik Abdul Aziz.
“Since PAS is not represented by a strong candidate, local issues and needs of voters will become more prominent, causing PAS’s contribution to protect the welfare of voters to be re evaluated.”
Dr Kamarul Zaman, who is also deputy director of the Institute for Malaysian Political Analysis (Mapan) in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), said there are rumours that Kelantan PAS Youth and Pengkalan Chepa PAS Youth are unhappy because their hope to see Pengkalan Chepa PAS Youth chief Mohd Arif Abdullah as a candidate did not materialise.
– BERNAMA
