AMANAH leaders are confident that PAS voters in Slim will not vote for Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz in the by-election this Saturday.

They said the Perak state seat is a test of support for BN from local PAS voters even though their leaders have a pact with BN in Muafakat Nasional.

“This by-election will be a test to see whether PAS voters here will vote for a BN candidate as they have never done this before here,” said Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub at a press conference at the party’s operations centre in Slim town today.

He said that Slim used to be a seat contested by PAS but is now being given to BN after the Islamist party joined a pact with Umno known as Muafakat Nasional.

PAS has declared support for BN candidate Zaidi, who is in a three-cornered contest against Pejuang-backed candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi, 38, and independent S. Santhasekaran, 44.

Amir is contesting as an independent as his party, Pejuang, is still waiting for the Registrar of Societies to approve its application.

“We will ensure full support is given to Amir just like how the support was given to Bersatu during the 2018 elections,” said Amanah Perak chief Asmuni Awi who was also at the press conference.

Amanah is a PAS splinter party whose leaders quit after PAS parted ways with DAP and PKR under the now defunct alliance of Pakatan Rakyat.

Amanah vice-president Mahfuz Omar, meanwhile, said he was surprised that many PAS supporters above the age of 50 had told him they will vote for Amir.

Mahfuz, who is Pokok Sena MP, said there are PAS supporters who could not accept that the party is now working with BN after the latter caused the Perak state government to fall in 2009.

PAS, which was with Pakatan Rakyat then, had led the state government at the time. 

Also at the press conference was Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad, another former PAS leader who is now with Amanah, and former Malacca chief minister Adly Rahman.

Polling for the Slim by-election will take place this Saturday. The seat was vacated on July 15 following the death of BN assemblyman Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, 59. – August 26, 2020.