KUALA LUMPUR: In a bid to wrest back what it calls an Umno stronghold from PAS, Barisan Nasional will be fielding a direct candidate, who is a former Malaysian Armed Forces chief, in the battle for Kemaman in the upcoming parliamentary by-election.
Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Umno, a component of the coalition, had lost Kemaman in the 15th General Election due to “PAS’ false accusations against the party and the huge sum it had spent there for the polls”.
“Kemaman has been an Umno stronghold, but we lost a seat that we previously held with a majority of more than 27,000 votes.
“This time around, we are confident voters in Kemaman will support our candidate,” Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno president, told reporters at Menara Dato Onn here yesterday.
At the press conference, he announced that Barisan will field Jen (R) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, 66, also a Terengganu native, as a direct candidate for the upcoming by-election.
He added that this was not the first time the coalition has done so.
Also present at the event were MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon, Barisan deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Terengganu Umno chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said.
The Election Commission (EC) has set polling for the by-election on Dec 2, with nomination day on Nov 18 and early voting on Nov 28.
The by-election is being called after the Kuala Terengganu Election Court on Sept 26 nullified the victory of Che Alias Hamid of PAS, after finding that bribery had occurred during the GE15 campaign.
Meanwhile, Raja Mohamed Affandi, a veteran of over four decades in the Armed Forces, described his candidacy as a call of duty and vowed to do his best to win back the Kemaman seat for Barisan.
“I thought long and hard about this offer ... I think it’s about time for me to give back what I’ve gained for the past 40 years to the country, especially to Kemaman (Umno),” he said.
The former military chief said he was surprised to be given the chance to contest and thanked the Barisan leadership for selecting him as a direct candidate in Kemaman.
Before he was appointed the 19th Chief of Defence Forces on Dec 16, 2016, Raja Mohamed Affandi had served as the 25th Army chief from 2013.
He retired in 2018 after serving the Armed Forces for 42 years.
Raja Mohamed Affandi, who was born in Besut, Terengganu, holds a Masters degree in Defence Studies (Australia) and another in Defence and Strategic Studies (Pakistan).
In January 2019, Barisan named Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor as a direct candidate for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election.
The former police officer retained the seat in GE15 last November and is currently a Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
