WHEREVER Saifuddin Abdullah goes, his nemesis, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi, is sure to follow.

They faced off in the 2013 elections in Temerloh, where Nasrudin of PAS won by 1,070 votes.

But that was when Saifuddin was an Umno man and PAS a component party of the now defunct opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat.

In the 14th general election, they will face each other in Pahang’s Indera Mahkota parliamentary seat – and this time, the tables are turned.

Saifuddin, who was a deputy minister and one of the more moderate voices in Umno, quit the party and joined PKR in 2015 after disagreeing with Putrajaya’s governance and handling of corruption allegations involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd. He is now Pakatan Harapan chief secretary.

In GE13, Nasrudin had the help of other PR parties. But now, PAS no longer has that level of support, even though it leads the smaller Gagasan Sejahtera opposition coalition.

Saifuddin is confident that come May 9, with PH’s backing, he can defeat Nasrudin.

“(It is different this time.) After I lost (in 2013), several people told me that they had voted against Barisan Nasional not because they didn’t like me, but to kick Umno out,” he told Malaysia Decides.

“Nasrudin is not a threat, he is just another candidate. People want change. People in Pahang are making the move to vote for PH,”said the former Global Movement of Moderates head.

Nasrudin has not been answering calls or messages requesting his comments for this article.

It will not be a straight fight between both men, however, as a third candidate, Umno’s Dr Johan Mat Sah, is also in the ring.

An Indera Mahkota local, the doctor is optimistic that voters will chose him over outsiders, even though Nasrudin and Saifuddin are heavyweights in their parties.

The seat was won by PKR’s Fauzi Rahman in 2013 by 7,523 votes. He is contesting a Pahang state seat in GE14. – April 30, 2018.