Tioman candidate dies, polls put off

KUANTAN: The Tioman state seat election, which has to be postponed following the death of a candidate, will now be held on Dec 7, the same day as election for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat.

Announcing this yesterday, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said nomination was also set for Nov 24 and early voting on Dec 3.

“Application for postal voting will be open from Nov 19 until 22,” he said, adding that the election was estimated to cost RM3mil.

Tioman is a state constituency of 28,465 voters.

The election for Tioman was suspended after Perikatan Nasional candidate Md Yunus Ramli, 61, died from heart complications early yesterday.

His death followed that of Pakatan Harapan candidate and incumbent for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat, M. Karupaiya, on Wednesday, which led to the postponement of the polls.

Meanwhile, Pahang Perikatan chairman Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah expressed his condolences to Md Yunus’ family.

“It is a very sad thing. It was so sudden ... we got the news this morning that he has passed away at around 2.45am.

“We notified the Rompin parliamentary returning officer Datuk Ahmad Nasim Mohd Sidek of the news and the election for the Tioman seat has been suspended until further notice,” said Saifuddin after casting his vote at SK Sungai Talam here.

He said Md Yunus’ passing was a big loss as he was “a good candidate”.

Saifuddin said as the Tioman seat had been allocated to PAS, a new candidate would be identified by the party as soon as possible.

“A new candidate will be announced as soon as possible,” he said.

Md Yunus was in a five-cornered fight with Pakatan’s Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly, Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Hussain, Pejuang’s Osman Bakar and independent candidate Sulaiman Bakar.

Meanwhile, Md Yunus’ son said his father looked rather tired when he returned home after a campaign round in Sungai Puteri on Friday night, reported Bernama.

Khairyel Harith, 28, the third son, said his father was very dedicated to his electoral campaign even though he had complained of fatigue due to the busy schedules.

He added that his father had a heart condition and had undergone heart bypass surgery in 2013.

Md Yunus leaves behind a wife, Rokiah Md Herham, 62, and three children – Khairunisa Nadirah, 34, Khairyel Harith and Khairyel Reezwan, 22.