PAS has agreed not to contest in the Tg Piai parliamentary by-election in November, said Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa.

He said the decision was made following a consultation session between Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Annuar said it is now up to BN to decide on the candidate, adding that it will be discussed between Umno and MCA.

“An initial consultation was held between the BN chairman and PAS president about two weeks ago, and we’ve got a glimpse of PAS’ view.

“The decision to choose a candidate is now strictly BN’s because PAS has decided not to field a candidate.

“So, the presidents of the BN component parties will hold a discussion in the near future and will announce the candidate,” Annuar told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

The Ketereh MP said BN will announce its candidate one week before the nomination or wait for Pakatan Harapan’s announcement first.

When asked if the candidate will be from Umno, Annuar said there are many things to consider, especially the voters’ sentiments in the seat.

He said a study was conducted on the voters’ sentiment and attitude, and they found to have a variety of opinions.

“Very mixed opinion on who should represent BN. One argues that MCA has not won recently, so why not try a candidate from Umno.

“One more view is that, since this is a former place of MCA and that they’ve not lost by much, why not give them another chance.

“So, let the presidents bear the headache,” he said.

The Tg Piai by-election was triggered by the death of its incumbent, Md Farid Md Rafik, from Bersatu/Pakatan Harapan.

The Election Commission has announced that the by-election will be held on November 16, with polling set for November 2, 2019.

Bersatu will contest again in the seat but has not decided on its candidate. At the BN end, the local Umno division is seeking to contest in place of MCA, which had held the seat traditionally until the last general election. – October 10, 2019.