INCUMBENT Abdul Hadi Awang won his PAS party presidency unopposed, the party said today, a day after the Islamist leader was feted at his Marang home base for tabling controversial Islamic law amendments in Parliament.

His deputy, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, also kept his post unopposed when nominations closed yesterday, PAS said in a statement in its website.

PAS secretary-general Takiyudin Hassan said in the statement five candidates qualified for the party vice-presidential elections, including two new candidates.

The two fresh faces are Takiyudin and information chief Nasarudin Hassan. The three incumbents are Idris Ahmad, Nik Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah and Iskandar Samad.

Forty others qualified for the 18 seats in the central committee. The party elections will be held at the PAS annual muktamar in Alor Star on April 26.

Sources said Khalil Abdul Hadi has garnered the most nominations - 38 - to contest the post of the party’s youth chief.

Khalil had been the wing’s deputy chief under Nik Abduh Nik Mat, who is stepping down.

Khalil will go up against Kelantan PAS Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who received 37 nominations.

Although he has pulled out from the race, Nik Abduh received seven nominations. He had earlier in the year lost heavily in a separate campaign for the party’s Pengkalan Chepa division chief post.

The wing’s deputy chief post, meanwhile, was won by Khairil Nizam Khirudin who received 99 nominations.

Although another contestant Azam Samad received nine nominations to contest the post, the party’s new rules state that every candidate must received a minimum of 10 nominations to qualify. – April 11, 2017