PAS won’t appeal lost MP seat

Green state: Terengganu will head to the polls at the same time as five other states, but its capital Kuala Terengganu also has a fight for its MP seat on the cards.

KUALA TERENGGANU: PAS will not appeal the election petition decision for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat, saying instead that it is prepared to face an eventual by-election.

This was announced by lawyer Wan Rohimi Wan Daud, who represented Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim, the PAS candidate for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).

According to him, the decision was confirmed by party president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang at the PAS central meeting at a hotel here.

“PAS is ready to hold the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election simultaneously with the state elections, which will be held on Aug 12,” he said via WhatsApp yesterday, Bernama reported.

On June 27, the Terengganu Election Court nullified the victory of Ahmad Amzad, who represented PAS in GE15, following allegations of vote-buying.

Judge Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril said the petitioner, Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Mohd Zubir Embong, succeeded in proving that corruption had taken place with the intention of influencing voters in GE15.

On Jan 3 this year, the state Umno filed a petition at the Kuala Terengganu High Court to annul the GE15 results for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat in accordance with the Election Offences Act 1954.

According to state Umno chief Ahmad Said, among the points raised in the petition were allegations that PAS had bribed voters by distributing financial aid from the state government, through the i-Pencen, i-Belia and i-Siswa initiatives, between Nov 15 and 17, 2022, which was just a few days before GE15.

Ahmad Amzad won the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat in GE15 with a majority of 40,907 votes, defeating three other challengers, including Zubir.

Meanwhile, PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the party had no qualms about dealing with the by-election as the party machinery was all geared up for the coming state polls.

“Terengganu is one of the states that will face an election (soon).

“Therefore, it will not be an issue if the elections are held simultaneously. The machinery is fully prepared,” he told Bernama.

Terengganu, along with Kedah, Kelantan, Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan will hold elections on Aug 12.

Meanwhile, an Election Commission official said the body will wait for the appeal period to expire on the petition before making any decision about the federal seat.

“Even though PAS has announced its decision (not to appeal) the matter, due process must be respected,” said the official, who had requested for anonymity.

“The period to appeal the decision is still in effect. Only when the period is over will the court inform the EC about the status of the case,” the official told The Star.

It is learnt that the appeal period for election court cases is 14 days.

“After that, the commission can make an official statement,” the official said yesterday.