KUALA LUMPUR: Kemaman is actually an Umno stronghold, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president said the upcoming parliamentary by-election would not be the first time the coalition has fielded a direct candidate.
Earlier on Monday (Nov 13), Barisan Nasional named former Army chief Gen (R) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor as its direct candidate.
"I believe that Kemaman is not a PAS stronghold, but it is actually an Umno stronghold.
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"(The seat was lost) after various issues, slander and hatred were thrown at Umno and Barisan.
"The use of 'extraordinary' financial resources at that time... led the coalition to lose (by) more than 27,000 votes in Kemaman," he said at Menara Dato' Onn here.
The by-election was called after the Terengganu Election Court nullified Perikatan Nasional's GE15 victory owing to the existence of elements of corruption during the campaign period.
Che Alias Hamid won the seat with a 27,179-vote majority over Barisan's Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, Pakatan Harapan's Hasuni Sudin and Pejuang's Rosli Ab Ghani.
Polling day for the by-election has been set for Dec 2, with nominations this Saturday (Nov 18) and early voting on Nov 28.
ALSO READ: Kemaman voters go to the polls on Dec 2
Ahmad Zahid said Raja Mohamed Affandi had contributed a lot to the country through his outstanding military career, which is outside of politics, for over four decades.
"He expressed his readiness to accept the offer by the top Barisan and Umno leadership.
"Although he understood that there are some risks he has to face, we believe that he has shown extraordinary spirit to represent Umno on a Barisan ticket," added Ahmad Zahid.
