Mahkota polls: PAS has been helping me throughout, says Bersatu candidate after talk of boycott

KLUANG: There were never any attempts to boycott the Mahkota polls by PAS, says Perikatan Nasional’s candidate for the by-election Mohamad Haizan Jaafar.

The Bersatu candidate brushed aside such allegations, saying that the PAS machinery had been helping him throughout the campaign.

“Who says they did not help? PAS has been helping us with the campaign all this while.

“They have sent their election machinery from other states, divisions and even from the national level.

“Saying that they have not been assisting us in this election is a complete lie. In fact, I just had a meeting with their campaigners from Terengganu moments ago,” he said at a press conference after visiting a futsal field here.

Mohamad Haizan said this when asked about talks that have been circulating about PAS boycotting the Mahkota by-election.

He said that other parties under Perikatan, including the Malaysian Indian People's Party (MIPP), a party that had joined the coalition just a couple of months ago, have also been helping out.

Johor PAS had reportedly submitted six names of potential candidates for the Mahkota polls to Perikatan’s leadership.

Polling for the by-election has been set for Sept 28, while early voting will be on Sept 24.

The Mahkota state seat became vacant when its assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, passed away on Aug 2, three days after she was hospitalised.

Sharifah Azizah won the seat in the March 2022 in the Johor state election by a 5,166-vote majority, beating three other candidates from Perikatan Nasional, Pakatan and Parti Warisan.

In the 14th General Election in 2018, PAS contested against Parti Amanah Nasional (Amanah), which was then an ally of Bersatu under Pakatan Harapan and Umno in a three-cornered fight.