OWING to ill health, Mustapa Mohamed will not defend his Jeli parliamentary seat in the upcoming general election. 

In a statement, the caretaker Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said he had informed the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman of his decision not to contest. 

“I made the decision after taking into account my doctor’s advice on my health which will not allow me to continue providing effective service to voters,” the 72-year-old said in the statement. 

Mustapa or Tok Pa as he is popularly known has held the Jeli parliamentary seat since 1995 except for one term when he lost the seat to PAS. 

In the 14th General Election, he beat candidates from PAS and Bersatu with a majority of 6,646 votes under the BN ticket. 

Mustapa left Umno and joined Bersatu in October 2018. 

Though he did not name his replacement, it is widely speculated that his political secretary Zahari Kechik would most likely be fielded. 

The PN component PAS is expected to announce the coalition’s line up of east coast candidates later today. – November 2, 2022.