Pulai by-election: Samsudin to stand as independent candidate

JOHOR BARU: Kuala Lumpur Consumer Safety Association (PKPKL) president Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi (pic) has become the first independent candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the Pulai parliamentary by-election next month.

Samsudin, 47, who also contested the Putrajaya parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15) as an independent candidate, said he aims to bring the voice of NGOs to Parliament if elected.

He also said that he decided to contest after seeing more focus given on positions rather than people's issues after GE15.

"I feel the need to have an NGO that brings the people's voice to the Parliament, to convey what is happening to the people because we are directly involved in dealing with various consumer issues. We listen to people's grievances every day.

"I have been commuting to Pulai for three weeks now to collect data and I have seen many people who are struggling with the rising prices of goods for example," he told Bernama on Tuesday (Aug 22).

The Kluang-born man said he chose to stand as an independent candidate because he did not want to be bound by any political party.

"I'm not here to divide votes. I want the people to understand that choosing an independent candidate will not disrupt the government's stability. I'm offering them a chance to determine whether they wish to step up as consumer advocates or not. The decision rests with them.

"However, the people's voice already exists in Parliament and I am opening the door for other NGOs to progress further," he said.

The Election Commission (EC) has fixed Aug 26 for nominations, Sept 5 for early voting and Sept 9 for polling for the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state by-elections.

There are 166,653 eligible voters for Pulai and 40,379 for Simpang Jeram.

It previously reported that the EC had sold eight nomination forms for both by-elections as of Aug 18.

The two seats fell vacant following the death of the incumbent representative the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub. – Bernama